Colorblind
by freedwinner28
Summary: Uchiha Itachi was many things. Prodigy. Shinobi. Traitor. Killer. Above all he was an enigma. He hid his true self well underneath multiple layers of lethal efficiency and cold indifference. It seemed unimaginable that a rare moment of carelessness could turn him into an open book. But it did. It happened. And everyday he had to be reminded of it.
1. The Acquisition

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi.

* * *

It was the first week of May. On other parts of the world, plants were starting to bloom and the sun shone brighter, giving way to warmer weather. However in this particular small village up north, people still wore their winter clothes and boots to keep warm. Even with the middle of the year drawing closer, the temperature remained bitterly cold. Needle-like frost covered most of its streets, foliage and rooftops, an occurrence which happened so often that it led to the place being named as Shimogakure, the Village Hidden in the Frost.

In one of its quieter roads near the village's outskirts stood two figures. One was unusually tall, with a built larger than that of an average man. Strapped on his back was a bandaged sword that was nearly as tall as him, a deadly behemoth of a weapon which he carried with relative ease. Beside him stood another man. He was tall for his age and had the lean build typical of a shinobi. A gust of wind pushed the hood of his thick coat off of his head revealing pale skin and straight, jet-black hair which was secured in a low ponytail. The hitai-ate that he wore on his forehead featured the defaced symbol of Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village. The young man was Itachi of the fallen Uchiha clan. He was in the middle of an acquisition mission with his partner, Kisame Hoshikagi who was also an S-rank shinobi and one of the seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The blue-skinned giant made an irritated sound and scratched the back of his neck. Fog puffed out of the gills on his cheeks as he did. "Our contact is late. You don't think he got cold feet, do you?" he asked his younger partner. Itachi merely gave him a sideway glance but remained quiet. Though he wasn't grumbling about it, he too was getting impatient. The cold was starting to irritate him. He wasn't made for it, considering he was born and raised in a land known for its warm and humid weather. Fortunately they didn't have to wait for too long. A hooded figure emerged from the bend in the road ahead of them. As it drew nearer, gloved hands reached over and lowered its hood revealing an anxious-looking blonde woman. Her honey-colored eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

"Are you Shibazaki-san?" Kisame asked gruffly, also pulling down his hood to reveal himself. He gave her a sharp-toothed grin as she gaped at the sight of him.

"Sorry I'm late," she replied, bowing down in apology. "I reckon you're here for the exchange."

"Ah. Take us to her."

Itachi noticed something flash across her beautiful features. She tried to suppress it, though he could tell she was having a hard time doing so.

"Follow me," she murmured.

The three of them made their way southwest to a small cluster of houses by a row of frosted cherry blossom trees. Kisame broke the silence with his usual small talk.

"Say, Itachi-san," he started, pulling his cloak tighter over his coat, "You've read the files right? This girl is your age. This ought to be interesting."

An uninterested sideway glance and a low "Hn" was all the swordsman got from him. He turned to the woman on his right, who looked like she was about to say something. She hesitated for a moment and said, "After today, take care of her for me, will you?"

Kisame snorted. "Seems to me like you've pegged us for babysitters, woman." The blonde grew quiet.

They rounded one more corner until they saw a small house erected a few yards away from the rest of the compound. It was further isolated from the rest of the villagers by the waist-high wooden fence which stood before a footpath lined by cherry blossoms. By the front door of the house stood a teenage girl. From afar, Itachi could tell she was a few inches shorter than Shibazaki-san and had shoulder-length dark hair. He recognized her from the photographs they had been provided with for this mission. It was her, their target. The girl ran towards them, stopping a few yards away. She eyed him and Kisame cautiously before greeting them with a bow. Then she turned to the woman on his right.

"Miyako, you silly girl," she smiled at her. "You didn't say you had visitors."

Kisame and Itachi exchanged glances. Miyako whispered a hushed "wait" to the both of them before going over to her. She took her by the elbows and led her away from them.

"What's the matter?"the dark-haired girl asked in a low voice. Despite having on warm clothes and a pair of gloves, a shiver still ran down her spine.

"They're here for you," Miyako replied, her chest constricting painfully as she did.

"Eh?" She gave them another worried glance. "I don't understand-"

"Shiori listen to me," the blonde cut her off. Honey-colored eyes shining with unshed tears locked on her grey ones. "These men are here to take you away from Shimo. They are shinobi and they are very, very dangerous. Do as you're told, no matter what. Do not talk back nor try to fight with them if you want to stay alive. I beg of you. Shiori...I'm so sorry. Forgive me." She cupped her cheek with a shaking gloved hand and began to weep in front of the stunned girl.

"Sotome Shiori," a deep voice boomed from behind Miyako. It was Itachi. "Shimogakure has sold you to the Akatsuki. Starting today you are a property and an asset of our organization. We will be taking you to the nearest headquarters. I prefer that you do not resist. I want to go through this transaction peacefully."

Gray locked on black. For a couple of seconds all she did was stare at him as though deliberating if there was truth behind his words. She could tell that there was.

This was real. It was happening. She glanced back at the weeping young woman in front of her and realized that she was on her own with this one.

"Miyako...what have you done?"

Before she could think twice, Shiori turned tail and ran for the opposite direction, ignoring her bestfriend's terrified pleas. Her heart thumped erratically at her throat as fear bled into her veins, putting her in a state of panic. She screamed in alarm as the dark-haired boy appeared in front of her. This time his irises glowed bright red. Three-fold tomoes swirled around each of his pupils. She couldn't stop in time and bumped against him.

"Shiori-san-"

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked, pushing away from him and turning back to the direction that she came from. She paused when she realized that Miyako and the beastly man had vanished. She called out for her bestfriend, afraid that she had been taken as well. Her head snapped back at where Itachi stood just seconds ago and realized that he was gone as well.

Wild eyes scanned her now empty surroundings. Everything was deathly still. The silence of top of that stillness was deafening.

'What the heck is happening?' she thought to herself, chin quivering from the adrenaline coursing all over her.

Without warning, a strong gust of wind blew against her face, making her squint in pain. It took with it the pink petals of the cherry blossom trees around her. As soon as half of the trees became bare, the detached petals began to swirl around her as though in a vortex. The tornado of ice and petals grew faster, making her hair whip painfully against her cheeks. She gasped loudly as breathing became difficult. She started clawing at her upturned collar in hopes that it would help her breathe. It didn't take long for her to go lightheaded. The tornado surrounding her faded into a pink blur and she felt herself tilt forward as consciousness slowly left her. Before she hit the ground she felt hands on her ribcage. Her lips brushed against warm and salty human skin. White erupted at the back of her eyelids before she fell on her attacker's arms, unconscious.

* * *

Miyako could only stare at Itachi and Shiori in silent shock. Everything happened so fast. Shiori had done the very thing she had begged her not to do and ran. Then the shinobi named Itachi went after her. She hadn't even noticed that he had moved until he was right in front of the dark-haired girl. That was when she began to act strange, screaming her name and looking wildly all over the place even though she stood no further than ten feet away from her. Before she realized what was happening, Shiori's eyes rolled upwards and she passed out. She would have face-planted to the ground as well if Itachi hadn't had the decency to catch her.

It was over. She had been captured.

"Pathetic," Kisame scoffed from behind. "She wasn't even under that mild genjutsu for more than five seconds and she's already spent."

Miyako's eyes widened in surprise. Her brother was a shinobi and she had seen him use genjutsu on several occasions while sparring. However neither he nor any of his comrades had performed such a feat that fast. Itachi hadn't even moved his hands. She could only stare as he walked past her with an unconscious Shiori in his arms.

"You job is done here," he told her before walking over to Kisame and dumping the limp girl on to his arms.

"Hey!" he protested, careful not to touch any part of her skin with his bare hands.

"Time to go Kisame. I've had enough of this place," Itachi said, irritation evident in his tone for the first time that day. The swordsman was too amused to notice this. He mistook the pink tinge on his partner's cheeks as a direct result of accidentally touching the poor girl where he shouldn't have and blamed the stoic boy's hormones for it. With a final nod, he hung Shiori over the bandaged blade of the Samehada which was propped over his shoulder and walked over to Itachi's side. The duo left a quiet Miyako to herself, leaving her alone to deal with the guilt that had began to haunt her.

"You sure you don't want to take a break, 'tachi-san? The next village is still a few hours away."

"We'll take a break when we get there," the Sharingan-wielder replied dismissively, pulling his hood over his head to cover his features.

"Suit yourself."

Though he remained stoic on the outside, Itachi was absolutely fuming within. His anger wasn't directed at the girl, who looked and acted like any other civilian he had met. It wasn't directed at Kisame who wouldn't stop complaining about everything or even at Miyako Shibazaki who made them wait. No, he was angry at himself.

Uchiha Itachi was human. He knew this. He also knew that despite the countless times he had been hailed as prodigious or exceptional, he was not perfect. He made mistakes. He just didn't expect himself to commit a mistake on a mission as simple as the one they just completed, one that Kisame had called a D-rank waste of time the day before. The mistake could have been so trivial had the consequences not been so dire.

It happened the moment that Shiori succumbed to his genjutsu. He had caught her just in time. His Sharingan even allowed him to see how her body was about to fall so he could catch her without bruising anything.

And then it happened. Her lips brushed against the skin on his collarbone. The contact didn't last more than a second and he didn't realize what this meant until after she had 'touched' him.

In an instant, the mission scroll flashed before his mind's eye. This girl's ability, the very reason Pain had ordered them to retrieve her, could only be activated by direct physical contact. Her surprised gasp just before passing out confirmed his worst fears.

She had read him. Sotome Shiori had glimpsed at his memories.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The rumors are true. I did fall off the face of the Earth and had now just managed to climb back on it. So this is my first ever Naruto pic. For those who had read my previous works and are also reading this, THANK YOU! For those Naruto fans who took their time to read my first attempt on Narutoverse, THANK YOU! I've been toying with this idea for a very long time because

a: I'm a massive Itachi fantard (thought a few years off of Naruto, an entire college course and countless hospital hours could fix that but NAH). Had been since he first appeared in the earlier episodes. I knew something was off with the murder-my-clan-for-power rubbish he wanted all of us to believe. Nice try 'tachi. But I don't buy it. For some reason that made me root for him even more. I cried kittens when I found out the truth.

b: I'm challenging myself with this one, writing-wise. I was terrified to put this out here to be honest. I gave myself the tricky task of putting an OC in situations where a Mary Sue could easily thrive and have a field day in and try my very hardest to portray said OC in such a way that wouldn't have her acting like...well, _that_. The long-standing question of "If a real human were to be placed in this situation how would she act?" is again placed under the spotlight. It's harder than it sounds trust me. Because it's sooo easy to slap on a Mary Sue whenever a difficult situation arises.

Anyways, as usual I'd like to hear your thoughts with this one. Come on guys clue me in. Reviews would be super duper awesome.


	2. Lineage

**Disclaimer:** Naruto is owned by Kishi.

* * *

It had been an unusual arrangement for Itachi and Kisame. In the past, it was them who got paid to do a task. However for the Frost Village assignment, it had been the other way around. Following the mission directives, the duo crashed the fortnightly meeting among Shimogakure's elders and presented a proposition. For ten thousand ryo, they wanted to get their hands on one of its residents, a civilian nicknamed the Witch of Shimogakure. Itachi knew that the elders were well-versed with what Akatsuki was capable of. The countless assassination missions that its S-rank nins had completed had rewarded the organization with a rather notorious reputation among the Great Shinobi Countries and its neighboring lands. Neither him nor Kisame had to lift a finger to scare them into agreeing with the deal. However even with this taken into consideration, the negotiation went better than expected. Itachi noted with well-kept bitterness that it was still highly likely for the elders to agree with the exchange even with an offer lower than the measly one they had given.

* * *

She doubted if he remembered it. But one of his earliest memories was of being a child no older than four. He was facing the glare of the sun with his eyes closed, a small contented smile gracing his little-boy mouth.

"What are you doing, 'tachi-kun?" A woman asked from behind. "You're going to get yourself a sunburn if you keep that up."

"I'm looking at the color red, Kaa-san," was his reply.

"How in the world can you be looking at anything with your eyes closed?"

For Shiori, who was seeing the world through the young boy's eyes, his answer made perfect sense. Because right there, with the sun beating angrily at his thin eyelids, the whole world was nothing but bright red.

She regretted that he had to open his eyes. This time, it was a different memory. The little boy was in Hell, for where else could you find an entire mountain littered with rotting corpses. The few people who remained standing did so with kunais and shurikens at the ready, throwing the deadly weapons at almost anything that moved. She expected him to run the other way, to put as much distance between him and the bloodbath as his short legs could manage. Isn't that what children do after all? To run away from things that scared them? Not this boy, apparently. Shiori whimpered helplessly, trapped within Itachi's body as he scouted the place. He was looking for his father and at the same time looking at the chaos that surrounded him. All the while one question kept echoing in his mind, ringing so loud and clear that it hurt.

 _Why is this happening?_

Itachi stumbled on his feet and by the time he looked up, him and Shiori were back in the Uchiha household, right in the middle of another memory. He was sitting at the backyard and facing a large pond. There was a full moon that night. In his arms, swaddled right against his small torso, was an infant with jet black hair and ruddy cheeks. When the little thing began to whimper from a sudden gust of chilly wind, the five-year old whispered, "There, there. Don't cry Sasuke. No matter what happens, your big brother will always protect you."

Unknown to many people including to the very boy he swore his life to, this statement will be a recurring theme in the Uchiha heir's life.

* * *

"I'm assuming your captors have explained to you why you're here," the purple-haired woman who introduced herself as Konan earlier said.

Not long ago, a genjutsu-intoxicated Shiori regained consciousness and found herself in a bare and dimly-lit room. Before she had a chance to panic, Konan emerged from one of its dark corners. The disgruntled girl could only stare in awe at the kunoichi's porcelain skin and lithe figure, both of which were elegant enough to conceal a rather strong and ominous aura. Shiori could tell that much.

"...The Akatsuki had bought me from Shimo," the dark-haired girl replied. Even then she couldn't bring herself to believe it was true.

"That's right."

Shiori met her heavy-lidded gaze. "But why? I don't know you people! How sure are you that I'm what you want? That I'm worth the amount you paid to the bastards whom you supposedly bought me from?" The angry crescendo in her voice was shot down with one nonchalant reply from the origami master.

"You weren't worth that much to be honest." A small smile graced Konan's lips at the stunned look that Shiori gave her.

"Give it a few weeks and I bet you'll be bending over backwards to prove to us your worth."

"You don't know me!" The younger girl bit back defensively.

"I know enough." Konan crossed the spacious room until she reached the front of a study desk. There she took out a piece of square paper and began folding it on the cool, wooden surface. "What do you know about the Rinha clan?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her artwork. Anger bubbled within Shiori. Despite her neutral face, she could tell that she was mocking her. Konan took her silence as a sign to continue. "The Rinha clan of Kumogakure is a rather small clan which specializes in medical ninjutsu. If my memory serves me right, they were highly sought after during the second and third shinobi wars. Warring villages had been known to race against each other to get their hands on Rinha hostages. Any worthy tactician knows that the kind of medic-nins you have working for your side could determine the outcome of a long-drawn war. It's a matter of who can keep their shinobi alive the longest. Those clansmen were often held at knife-point, coerced into sharing their techniques to the rest of the medical team."

Shiori was stunned. She definitely did not know that. She found her voice after a long pause. "So is that what this is about?" If so then either the geezers of Shimogakure were highly-skilled conmen or the Akatsuki folks were clumsier than she thought.

"Of couse not Shio-chan," Konan replied in exasperation, making the younger girl cringe at the nickname. "You and I both know that you don't have a single nugget of medical ninjutsu know-how inside that pretty head of yours. Now if you let me finish." She put aside the newly-folded paper crane and took out another square of folding paper.

"What many people didn't know is that while medical ninjutsu may be the clan's forte, their ultimate technique is nothing medically-related at all. It's something much more sinister." In the blink of an eye Konan vanished from where she stood by the table. She reappeared right in front of Shiori making her yelp in surprise.

"No, please!" she screamed. Konan had her left forearm in a firm grip. She grew sick with fear when she realized how thin the fabric of her long-sleeved shirt was. Despite her protests, Konan proceeded to remove the glove on her left hand.

"If you touch me-"

"Members of the Rinha clan have a rather peculiar ability, a bloodline limit that allows them to absorb a person's chakra and memories with a single touch. After which they recreate a perfect clone of that person. They say you are your worst enemy. Your relatives certainly believed in that and utilized such a fact to work in their favor."

Shiori pulled away from the kunoichi. If she had been stunned before then she had just about lost her mind then. Not once did she consider that her _condition_ was something she inherited from the father she never knew. How an obscure man from an obscure, near-extinct clan have such a profound effect on her life was beyond her. It didn't seem fair.

"I can't create clones," she blurted out, not knowing what else to say. What else can she say to a stranger who knew more about her than what her mother bothered to tell her? Shiori was lost.

"As expected from a half-baked Rinha bastard such as yourself."

Her right hand flew of its own accord, swiping in front of her towards Konan's cheek. Instead of landing on flesh it tore through thin paper. The kunoichi's face tore in half with a sickening rip.

"What the hell?!" Shiori screamed, back-paddling away from the paper carnage until her back hit against the wall. Konan exploded into thousands of square-shaped paper pieces which drifted steadily in the air, hovering on the empty space to her right. And right before her eyes, the purple-haired woman's face was reconstructed piece by piece, followed quickly by her entire body. Soon she was solid flesh once again, sitting beside Shiori whose facial expression conveyed a person on the verge of losing it. "If you don't kill me yourself right now, a heart attack will probably get the job done."

Konan continued as though nothing happened.

"Despite that ability being a bloodline limit, it takes practice and guidance to absorb chakra and memories and perform the Spirit Reflection Technique. Unfortunately for you, you have neither. What's more, your ability is constantly turned on for some reason. That's why every person you touch you end up absorbing their memories and a part of their chakra. And you don't know the first thing about what to do with it all, which is exactly the way Pain-sama wants you to be."

 _Exactly the way Pain-sama wants you to be._

To say that Shiori felt paranoid was a huge understatement. Everything felt surreal, like a nightmare that she couldn't get out of. Somebody's _master_ actually did research on _her_ , her lineage, what she can and cannot do. For years she had prided herself with her ability to stay under the radar, just like what her mother had begged her to do. And yet this obscure organization of dangerous shinobi had pinpointed her so easily. Now she was theirs. No matter how much her pride stopped her from accepting that it was game over for her, a sinking feeling resonated within her bones.

'Still, there has to be a way out of this,' she thought stubbornly.

Konan eyed the hyperventilating girl quietly. Just as she had expected, she was a far cry from the fierce and proud members of the clan that she hailed from. The few Rinhas that she had managed to come across in the past had put up massive fights in situations that had cornered them to near defeat. Shiori seemed to have accepted her fate ever since Itachi and Kisame captured her. She followed where the girl's gray-eyed gaze landed and realized that it was on the door which was held ajar.

'Or maybe not,' she thought to herself. "You can't escape, Shiori-chan."

She had barely finished her sentence when their captive dashed out of the futon and out of the room. She sighed inwardly as the girl's bare foot thudded heavily on the stone floors. Konan took her time in going after her. She wasn't too concerned with her escaping. It was hard enough for seasoned shinobi to escape Akatsuki headquarters alive. To consider a civilian succeeding in such a feat seemed almost laughable. And true enough, she was right.

There was a high-pitched shriek followed by Kisame's rough laughter. Konan rounded to a corner and found that Shiori had bumped into her two captors.

"Going so soon, little one?" Kisame mocked. Itachi looked at her with a rather bored expression on his face. He didn't even bother activating his Sharingan.

"Let me out!" Shiori demanded. She turned back only to find Konan blocking the way. A humanoid form emerged from the stone wall on her right. It had a bi-colored face and a head that was encased with what looked like a flytrap.

"Are you the latest purchase that we've all been hearing about?" the plant-man asked in a soft, effeminate voice.

"Let me out!" she screamed again, gray eyes looking wildly at the people surrounding her. "I beg you! Please!"

"Oh. She doesn't know?" The plant-man asked once again, turning to Konan with a questioning glance. It was Itachi who replied.

"She does, Zetsu. I've told her."

"But I didn't agree to this! Any of this!"

"You don't have a choice."

Something snapped within her upon hearing these words. Shiori glared at the dark-haired man, Itachi. That's what they called him. Compared to the Itachi she saw just minutes ago, the person in front of her was barely recognizable. She thought it was cruel, how circumstances could do something like that to someone who was once so kind, a lifetime ago it seemed.

"I guess..." she trailed off, a rueful smile spreading on her half-sane features. "I guess that makes two of us."

This time, she recognized it when she saw it. People in Itachi's memories called it the Sharingan, the Uchiha clan's ultimate weapon. And if the memories that he had of his past enemies were anything to go by then Shiori was certain of one thing: she was screwed. Again.

The last thing she saw was the color red.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Some of Itachi's memories are DEFINITELY taken from Naruto Shippuden. Information about the Rinha Clan, their reputation with the use of medical ninjutsu and their kekkei genkai (bloodline limit) are taken from Narutopedia. I want to be as much of a stickler to canon as I could. Oh yeah and my apologies for those who were expecting loads of action by this chapter. I have a feeling this piece is going to be one of those slow ones. Updates might be slow as well because hey, a girl's gotta live...and earn a living while doing it. Anyhoo, lemme know what you guys think if you want. Reviews would be awesome.


	3. Bound

_I didn't understand back then what real pain was. The pain of losing a life, I felt it for the first time after losing it - no, I was_ made _to realize it, the feeling of not wanting to lose something to so precious._

"Nii-san! Your eyes!"

Through the haunted boy's eyes she saw Sasuke, who was a lot bigger than in the last memory she saw him in. Itachi's thumb went over the apple of his cheek. The toddler's innocent grin was both blurred and sharp at the same time. The young boy's Sharingan continued to glow as he mourned for the death of his comrade.

 _Will the day come when you'll possess these eyes too? The day when you'll know what sadness is..._

Before Shiori had a chance to mourn with him she found out the answer to the young Itachi's question. Neither her nor the then thirteen-year-old shinobi could ever prepare for the sanity-crushing guilt that came with that fateful night. Every swing of his blade bit on his, and in turn, her conscience but none of those deaths did as much damage as Sasuke's screams every time Itachi subjected him to the Mangekyo Sharingan.

'Why is this happening to you?' she thought as she felt hot tears roll down the teenage boy's cheeks. After one final glance at his otouto, he disappeared into the night leaving the death of an entire clan in his wake.

'Why Itachi?'

* * *

It almost felt insulting that she always came around with no physical restraints whatsoever. No ropes binding her wrists or shackles weighing down her ankles. It was as if they were teasing her. Yes, she wasn't being held down but no, she wasn't free either. This time she jolted awake on a chair in the middle of an underground dungeon. The oil lamps cast an eerie glow to the moist earthen walls around her. She let out a shaky breath, allowing the nightmarish flashbacks to drain out of her system only to gasp once again as her gaze landed at the person sitting right in front of her.

It was a man with shaggy dark hair and long limbs. His entire skin was riddled with cuts, bruises and burns. He reeked of excrement and urine. Even with a few yards between them, the foul smell was strong enough to make her gag. These, however, weren't the most disturbing part. It was the empty look in his eyes. The man tilted his head to fix his wall-eyed gaze on her directions. If he did see her, he didn't give any indications that he did. A string of saliva dribbled out of the corner of his disfigured lip, streaming parallel with the discharge coming out of his charred left ear.

Konan, Zetsu, Itachi and Kisame emerged from the dark corner of the suffocating place. Shiori didn't even notice they were there earlier.

"What did you do to him?" The question left her mouth sounding like a sob.

"Oh no," Zetsu replied quickly, shaking his hands in front of him. "I took him away from a place much similar to this one. Two guys did that to him. And like you, we don't know why either. Find out for us, will you?"

Shiori shrieked as a large hand pulled her by the arm, forcing her to stand up. Kisame half carried and half dragged her across the room until they both stood right in front of the catatonic man.

"Listen kid, you're wasting a good deal of our time. The sooner you do what you have to do the sooner we can get rid of this stinking mess." He lifted her bare left hand and slapped it against the man's cheek. The dark-haired girl gasped as she felt herself being sucked into the stranger's memories.

"Itachi. Do you have means of confirming anything?" the only kunoichi in the room asked, glancing sideways at the young shinobi beside her.

"Yes. I've spoken to my contacts about him." Itachi didn't look away from the scene in front of her. The girl had her eyes squeezed shut, grinding her teeth as she battled with something invisible even to him. The man seemed unfazed by what was happening and merely blinked when her hand landed heavily against his face. It could only mean one thing. The witch of Shimogakure was capable of probing someone's mind undetected. He wondered briefly how someone so weak could possess an ability so formidable.

Just a couple of seconds later, Shiori begged to be freed.

"Let go! Stop! Stop! STOP!"

Kisame did as she asked and watched as the girl staggered away from her target. She bit her lip and eyed the man with a combination of fear and contempt.

"He's a lowlife criminal," she started in a soft voice, barely a murmur. "He earns a living by peddling drugs and he gets what he wants by stealing from other people. If he can't steal from them, he kills them."

Zetsu let out a terrified gasp. Shiori turned to Konan and continued, "Two weeks ago, he murdered a woman in cold blood in front of her daughter after she refused to hand him her purse. She was pregnant too. Who does that?"

The memory of the crying child was still etched at he back of her eyelids like a haunting after image. She was there. She saw everything through his eyes and she felt what he felt the moment the rusty kunai ripped through the skin on the woman's neck. The rush, the laughter bubbling at the pit of his stomach. He was enjoying it.

"Itachi?"

"She's a Rinha, alright."

Konan and Itachi nodded at each other. Kisame barked at Shiori to follow him. All four of them left the room, with Itachi closing the door behind him just as Zetsu walked over the face the disfigured criminal. As they walked away, a muffled scream echoed in the walls followed by the sickening crunch of breaking bones.

"Keep walking," Kisame ordered the dark-haired girl when she took a peek behind them.

They walked until they reached the ground floor, passing by dim hallways similar to the ones Shiori ran through earlier. After several twists and turns they reached the main foyer. Unlike the hallways, it was well-lit from the sunlight pouring through open windows. She could see a porch which covered the width of the side of the building where the main entrance was. Beyond that, she could see a moss garden overlooking a small village below. Konan pulled her out of her thoughts.

"I thought I should warn you," she started, "There was more to the genjutsu that Itachi used on you earlier."

Shiori's glance shifted to the tall teenage boy beside her only to find a pair of fully matured Sharingan staring back. Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut before adjusting her gaze to a spot on the sleeve of his cloak. She knew what those eyes were capable of, which was why Konan's words filled her with a sense of foreboding.

"On Pain-sama's orders, he implanted a suggestion in you. Any attempt to escape or divulge any information you've gathered about the Akatsuki to either civilians or shinobi will trigger you to commit suicide."

Bile crept up at the back of Shiori's tongue, filling her mouth with a bitter taste. Her thoughts went back to Itachi's ANBU subordinates in one of his memories, how they ended up skewering each other the moment they turned against him.

"How?" She couldn't fathom how it happened. She barely looked at him. She doubt she locked eyes with him for more than a split second.

His response indicated that he understood her question differently. "It depends. Whichever does the job the quickest on the time of your betrayal."

" _Betrayal_?" she scoffed. "I wasn't aware I was affiliated with you guys."

"Whatever. I guess that's it," Kisame piped in, locking his hands at the back of his neck. "We can finally leave this whiny brat alone. She'd be too scared to do anything now. 'tachi, come. Let's grab something to eat. I'm fucking starving." The giant shark-man made his way into the large hallway on the western part of the building. Itachi turned to Konan and bowed before tailing after his partner. Kisame's voice echoed against the walls.

"Technically you captured her so she's your ward, alright? Sorry but I can't be stuck with babysitting jobs, man. I just can't."

When it was just her and Konan left in the foyer, the kunoichi said, "Assets eat in their own rooms. Meals will be handed over to you and you have an hour to finish them. Make sure you're there when the rations come." She nodded once and headed to the hallway opposite to where the two men disappeared into.

Needless to say, she missed the rations that night. She wandered for hours before she came across one of the caretakers who quietly led her to her own room.

"If you're Itachi's ward, I reckon I don't have to lock you in," the old man stated, giving her a questioning look.

"Not really," she mumbled before bowing at him in gratitude. He bowed back and slowly closed the door in front of her.

Shiori stood in place for the longest time, her mind blank and her heart devoid of any emotion.

* * *

She did not see much of anyone for days. Then again, she didn't leave her room to begin with. She barely moved. Ever since her capture, every movement she made felt like a chore. Even the act of eating was exhausting. Still, despite the fatigue she couldn't sleep. She couldn't remember the number of times she stared out of the window until sunset turned to night. Not long after that, sunrise would paint the sky an orange hue and the dull cycle her life had taken would then start anew.

One day, after the aging caretaker took away another cold meal she barely touched, he came back with a pile of neatly folded clothes.

"We never have young girls running around this place so I doubt any of these are a good fit. But it's the least I can do," he said.

"Huh." It never crossed her mind that she hadn't showered in days. She thought that perhaps it was the old man's subtle way of telling her that she was beginning to reek.

She waited until she was alone before she stood up from her spot on the floor to go through the clothes he had brought.

"Well, he's right about one thing," she mumbled to herself.

Most if not all of the clothes were several sizes too big for her. She could literally swim in them. Some of them had their sleeves ripped off. While these looked good on tall, well-muscled men, they did nothing to hide the skin on her arms and her sideboobs. She brightened up a bit when she saw a short-sleeved shirt with a high collar. It still looked big on her but not big enough to look ridiculous. She buried her face on to the soft fabric and inhaled deeply, concluding that it had belonged to someone who never wore a drop of perfume in his life and yet managed to smell pleasantly well, the way boys ought to smell in her opinion. She turned it over and came face to face with the image of a paper fan embroidered on its back. The Uchiha clan symbol. She could recognize that anywhere now. With a defeated sigh, she tossed it aside and picked up the biggest shirt on the pile.

* * *

Itachi had been away on missions with Kisame for days. Normally he preferred this. The constant influx of S-ranked tasks kept him occupied and prevented his mind from wandering. However, ever since that mission in the Frost Village, these tasks had only become too bothersome. The faster he wanted them over with, the more they kept coming. It didn't help that sleep had been evading him for days as well. Every time he attempted to get some shut eye, the same thought kept echoing in his head.

 _She knows._

Shiori never confirmed it with him but the signs were there.

 _I guess that makes two of us._

If those words were anything to go by, it could only mean that his fears had come true.

'I should've done it,' he chastised himself on several occasions. When he had planted that suggestion within her, he had been tempted to include divulging his memories as one of the triggers. However, a part of him which sounded so much like his younger self, argued against this.

'It wasn't her fault. She doesn't have to pay for your mistakes.'

And he had listened. After the nth sleepless night he regretted that he did.

Itachi waited patiently as Kisame counted their service fee. Once the blue-skinned man was satisfied, he tucked it in his cloak and turned to face him.

"Alright. Is that all of it?"

"No. We need to head to the Land of Iron to meet Hidan and Kakuzu. We're bringing the girl with us."

Kisame tilted his head and sighed to the heavens.

"I swear to Kami. Pain-sama has been pounding our asses to the ground these past few days. I'm sick of it."

Itachi remained quiet. He was thinking about what to do when they got back to the headquarters.

"Fine. But can we at _least_ get a few hours of break?" Kisame bargained.

"Hnn."

He was alright with that. Besides, he had matters to deal with.

* * *

He found her on the moss garden, perched on one of the larger rocks overlooking the small village below. From afar, his failing vision made her look like a black blob. As he went closer, he realized that the image didn't change much. She had on a large long-sleeved shirt, one so large that it could have easily gone below her knees. He recognized it as one of Kisame's. The strong winds blew it on several directions, making Shiori look like she was drowning in it.

Very cautiously, the dark-haired girl turned around to look at him, sighing visibly with relief when she saw that his eyes were in their normal onyx color. She turned back to the scene below her. Itachi moved forward until he was right beside the rock she had perched on.

"This place used to be a temple owned by the monks," he started. "They headed down when the people of that village decided they didn't want to remain as a hidden village. Years ago it used to be called-"

"Yugakure," she cut him. "I know." Every once in a while the winds would bring with them the smell of sulphur, a smell which was common in the Land of Hot Water.

Itachi was curious as to how she knew but decided not to ask further questions about it.

There was a deafening pause between the two of them. Neither dared say a word until Shiori couldn't take it any longer.

"Alright spit it out," she blurted out. "What is it?"

"I'm keeping an eye on my ward," he replied coolly.

Shiori laughed dryly at this. "You already know I can't escape without dropping dead. And you already know that dropping dead hasn't made it in my to-do list just yet.. You're a cunning man Uchiha-san. You don't do things just because."

"I believe I already told you why. You are my ward. It's my job to keep an eye on you."

"We both know that's not it. But whatever."

Itachi had expected her to argue some more. He almost felt disappointed that she gave up so quickly. Almost. He decided to cut the chase.

"How did you know about the Sharingan? You know that for the genjutsu the work, a person has to look into the wielder's eyes. I don't think anyone has told you that."

"Experience is the best teacher, I guess," she replied steadily. Her body language, however, betrayed her anxiety.

"Civilians usually cannot figure that part out so easily."

"Usually."

Shiori let out a surprised yelp as she felt a sharp tug over her clothed forearms. The force made her slip off of the rock. Before she fell face down to the ground, a pair of hands grabbed her by the arms to steady her. On instinct, she squeezed her eyes shut.

"You read me, didn't you? _Look_ at me." The forceful tone of Itachi's deep voice made her want to panic. Her eyes flew open as she felt his grip on her tighten painfully. She trained her gaze on his chest, making sure she avoided his eyes even on her peripheral vision.

"How much did you see?"

"Enough." She whimpered when she felt a gloved hand grab her chin, forcefully tilting her head up. Gray eyes locked with the tomoe of the Sharingan.

"Don't make me ask you again." Itachi's tone remained stoic but there was no mistaking the threat behind his words.

Her chin trembled as she fought to find her voice within.

"I know why you're here. And the events that brought you here..."she replied shakily. "I know about Sasuke-it's...It has always been about him. Even now. You only did what you had to do, Uchiha-san."

A flash of anger crossed his usually emotionless features. The way he was looking at her, Shiori could tell he was deliberating with himself. And she wasn't too keen to stand around to find out what it was he was deliberating about.

"It's not my fault I know all this!" She spat out so desperately it sounded like she was screaming. "You and I both know I never wanted to-"

"Those are not your secrets to tell. Try to remember that. You know what I'm capable of, Sotome Shiori."

Shiori nodded vigorously. She was suffocating. She couldn't breathe. Some time during their encounter, Itachi had managed to corner her against the rock. A forearm over her chest had successfully snuffed out any chances of her wriggling out of his grasp. The claustrophobia this caused along with the sheer fear of being put into another genjutsu had jumpstarted her heartbeat into an impossible speed. She felt it fluttering all the way up her throat and she thought she was going to die of a heart attack right then and there.

Itachi sensed the panic pouring out of her in droves. He could practically smell it. The Sharingan master concluded that there was no way Shiori was going to say anything now. He allowed himself to gloat on his small victory before pulling away, afraid that if he pushed her too far, she might have a breakdown.

'Now is not the time,' he thought. The taunting would have to wait until later.

"We're leaving for the Land of Iron this afternoon. Get yourself ready."

He moved so fast that he vanished right before her eyes. The sudden loss of support from him made her stumble. She leaned against the rock behind her and heaved out a sigh of relief.

"What the heck just happened? That did not just happen...oh _shit._ Bastard..."

One one hand, she saw enough to know that Itachi was a genuinely kind person. On another hand, she saw enough to know that Itachi was a kind man who was highly capable of doing unspeakable cruel acts.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Itachi's memories in this one are anime-canon. Thanks for the likes and faves you guys. I honestly have no idea how this one is doing. Oh well, if you've read this far I guess it's good enough for you eh? Till then.


	4. Evade

The journey to the Land of Iron took three days. Most of the time Shiori and Itachi were quiet, often going for hours without uttering a single word. Kisame entertained himself with one-sided conversations. His topic-of-choice was the Samehada's favorite chakra flavor. Every once in a while he would mention how the whole travelling business had gotten more troublesome because they couldn't utilize ninjutsu to speed things up.

"I'm telling you, we could've covered all those miles in half the time had we traveled with chakra-infused feet," he said for the umpteenth time. Shiori gritted her teeth when the shark-man gave her a dirty look. He didn't have to tell her why he was blaming her for the delay. Of the three of them, she was the only one incapable of _infusing_ her chakra anywhere. They couldn't leave her behind either so the duo had no choice but to fall back as well.

"You're slow and you tire easily."

"I have short legs and I haven't worked out in ages," Shiori replied, trying to sound as flat as possible. "If I had known I'd be abducted by you guys perhaps I would've done more cardio. My bad, I guess."

"Watch it," Itachi warned from behind her. It was the first time he had spoken since breakfast. The sudden emergence of his tenor voice caught her off-guard.

"Kisame," Itachi continued, earning a backward glance from his fellow missing-nin. "If you're in such a hurry why don't you carry her on your back so we _could_ travel faster?"

The suggestion earned him horrified looks from his two companions which made him huff smugly.

"No. I already told you I'm not touching that freak," Kisame spat. "I don't want her near my mind at all. _You_ carry her."

"I'll walk faster. Thanks," Shiori added quickly before Itachi could protest. It was true that she spent her years in Shimo as an outcast and she was used to being at the receiving end of people's repulsion. That didn't mean, however, that the experience had lost its sting. As a result, she had developed an uncanny ability to spot rejection before it happened and had become good at avoiding it.

Itachi's face remained stoic but she didn't miss the small sigh that puffed out of his chest underneath his cloud-filled cloak, a sigh that could only be attributed to that of relief. All of the sudden, he stopped in his tracks. His irises bled red as he trained his gaze ahead of them.

"What's wrong, 'tachi?" Kisame asked, instinctively grabbing at the Samehada.

"There are people coming this way."

Shiori gasped. Up ahead she could see a caravan of horsemen making their way towards them. Some of the horses were pulling on carts filled with sealed crates. Others pulled buggies which from afar seemed to contain more people inside. It was the first time she had seen others outside the Akatsuki since her capture and the thought of it made her pulse quicken. Once they cross paths she could be a hair's breadth away from freedom. Under simpler circumstances, a single plea to them would be enough to rip her off of her captives' clutches. She was also well aware that this wasn't the case and it was frustrating enough for her to make her eyes water.

"Stop screwing that face of yours and act natural," Kisame warned. "If they start to suspect something we might have no choice but to put them down."

"Kisame-" Itachi started but was abruptly cut off by the gigantic swordsman.

"Look around you. We have a cliff on one side and a crevice on another. With this girl we can't avoid them at all."

"It's too late anyway," the younger shinobi replied. "They've seen us."

The trio stood on one side as the long queue of people, animals and goods passed by them. Itachi and Kisame had pulled their straw hats down to hide their faces while Shiori hid as much of herself as possible into her oversized clothes. She stole a quick glance at Itachi and shivered when she saw the distinctive reddish glow of his Sharingan beneath the straw hat.

All three stiffened when one horse rider stopped in front of them. The cart behind him and two other horsemen stopped as well. Shiori grew pale with fear.

"Where are you headed to, young lady?" the man who looked middle-aged with graying hair asked her. His eyes narrowed with suspicion at the teenage girls' gaunt look. She looked worse with the ill-fitting clothes she was wearing. Inches away on the girl's left, Itachi's hand twitched.

"Land of Iron," she replied as steadily as she could muster. She clutched her top closer to stop it from falling off her shoulder. 'Go away,' she willed the old man but he seemed to smell something was off.

"Honestly, I don't think it's a safe place for girls like you to travel to, even with escorts." With this, he eyed the two men flanking her. His gaze lingered on the sword strapped behind Kisame.

"Don't worry about it mister," she shook her head. "We'll be alright."

To her utter horror, the man swung one leg over the back of his horse and hopped off of it. He walked over to where the three of them stood. Itachi and Kisame remained still but there was no mistaking the tension in the air. Shiori had trouble breathing as she found herself stuck in the thick of things. In her mind's eye, she could already see the carnage in store for the curious man and his companions. A few yards away, the first half of the caravan had stopped as well. People were peeking down the bend in the road, trying to see what the delay was all about.

In a split second decision, Shiori stopped the man from getting closer to the two shinobi by stepping forward to meet him halfway.

"Shiori," Itachi called out, voice laced with venom.

"Eiji," the gray-eyed girl shot back, giving him a stern look. Itachi masked his confusion at being called a different name.

"Just a moment," she said, pleading at him not to attack.

"If there's something wrong, if you need help, I want you to know that you can tell us," the old man said. "There's nothing to be scared about."

Shiori disagreed with that part. They didn't know that they were in the presence of two highly efficient killers. One of them killed his entire clan which was mostly composed of seasoned Sharingan wielders. And while she may not be privy to the things Kisame had done in the past, she could bet that they were just as bloody and heinous.

'Lie,' she urged herself. 'Life or their deaths will be on you.'

"Actually, you _could_ save me from boredom, Ojisan. Eiji and Jin back there, they don't really talk much. Trust me, it can drive you nuts after a few odd days." She surprised herself by letting out a sincere belly laugh. "But I have to admit, they do come in handy when a bear or two decides that it wants me for dinner. I'll give them that."

The old man's expression changed from suspicious to surprised. "Is that right?"

Shiori didn't answer. Instead, she scanned the surroundings for a diversion. She zeroed in on a boy about her age perched on top of one of the carts. The redhead was looking at the scene below him with so much intensity that he was thrown off-guard when the dark-haired girl looked up and winked at him.

Taking the blush creeping up the boy's cheeks as a good sign, Shiori sauntered over to the cart he was on, letting Kisame's massive shirt slip down one shoulder for good measure.

"What in the world is she up to?" Kisame whispered through gritted teeth.

Itachi kept silent and watched the scene in amusement. He had not seen this side of Shiori since that day in Shimo. Even then, it had only been for a brief moment. It was a completely different version from the scared and gloomy girl she had turned into.

"Hello there, handsome," Shiori chirped, allowing herself to flirt shamelessly. "What's your name?"

The redhead opened and closed his mouth several times before he could talk.

"Uhmm...Kentaro," he sputtered out.

"Kentaro-kun, what are those?" she pointed at the massive mound behind him which was covered by a large sheet of loincloth.

"Oh um...these are produce, spices mostly, from the Land of Earth. We're planning to sell them in the Yugakure market this weekend."

Shiori jutted a hip out and planted her hand there. She clacked her tongue in disapproval. "If you don't mind me asking, how far does your route go?"

Kentaro threw a questioning look at the middle-aged man ahead of them who only nodded in approval.

"East, west and back," he replied.

"Crossing the Nami Gulf to the Land of Water?"

"How did you...? Actually, yeah."

"Hmm. Good to know." She gave him a once-over while biting her lip before walking over to the older man standing in front of the two Akatsuki members. She needed to get him as far from them as possible. "Ojisan. You're taking part in the Yugakure market festival, aren't you?"

The man looked impressed. "I see you know about that."

"Any merchant worth his weight in gold does," Shiori replied with an air of arrogance that she hasn't used since she was younger. He gasped in surprise. "So you lot are..."

"We don't look the part but we are in the trade as well," she smiled. "Technically you guys are competition but since I'm feeling a bit generous today, lemme give you a tip: If you have produce to sell then we all know that it's going to be a hit for you. However, I suggest that you keep the spices, particularly the chilies."

The older merchant looked scandalized. "But they're our bestseller!"

"They are. But if you travel further into Shimogakure you can sell them there for thrice their original price and people will still come clamoring after them. The Land of Frost is small so Shimo is difficult to miss. I've lived there a few years and spices are in-demand all year round since we can't grow them locally and the temperature is always freezing."

The older man stroked his chin, actually considering her suggestion. Behind him, Kisame and Itachi seemed to have relaxed considerably. The blue-skinned shinobi was lazily scratching a spot on his arm. Itachi was looking at the exchange with curious, onyx eyes. Shiori let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay. Anything else?" the old man asked. This time, his earlier suspicions seemed to have evaporated completely.

"The northern border of the Land of Stone are known for their perfumes. Northern merchants always do a pilgrimage there. I'm assuming you're no different. Stop by Nadeshiko Village in the Land of Water. The surplus scents from the expo could be sold there for a higher price. Their matriarchs can never get enough of them."

While the gray-haired merchant laughed in amusement at Shiori's street-smarts, she fought to keep down the bile that was burning the back of her throat. She found it inappropriate that he was laughing, considering how he had gone so close to meeting an untimely death.

* * *

"Looks like you're more useful than I originally thought."

It was the first thing that Kisame said to her which resembled a compliment and for that she couldn't help but feel accomplished. Shiori shrugged as she lifted the bag of goods in her hands. In exchange for a few trading tips, the merchants had returned the favor with food that could last well after their trip.

"How did you know about those things?" Kisame asked. The brief encounter with the caravan got their adrenaline running and as a result, had made them a tad bit more talkative. Kisame was enjoying the chance to get a reply which didn't sound like Itachi's "Hn".

"If I tell you I'd have to kill you," Shiori deadpanned, rummaging through the bag's contents.

"Right. I'd like to see you try," the swordsman scoffed.

"Who are Jin and Eiji?" Itachi asked, joining in the conversation. His stint in ANBU had taught him that if a person was caught off-guard without an alias, the name he or she would come up with on the spot was usually that of a person he or she knew. Even he had been guilty of using that escape route a few times.

Shiori chuckled bashfully and rolled her eyes. "Nothing escapes you, Uchiha-san. Right, so Jin is Miyako's lover. That blonde girl back in Shimo, remember? Anyway, they've been together for ages so I know him well."

"So who's Eiji? Your lover?" Kisame teashed. Shiori winced and tripped at the same time, barely recovering in time before their food came crashing down the dirt.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Shiori chuckled mirthlessly. "No he's not." She avoided looking at Itachi because she can tell he was scrutinizing her. He knew she was hiding something and she was afraid he would figure it out.

And then there was this other thing, though she would never admit it to herself. Sometimes she would make the mistake of staring at the Uchiha for too long. And when she did, her heart would squeeze painfully in her chest. In a scene she was all too familiar with, she would feel it break into a million pieces even as it remembered how happy it had been when it fell in love.

There was more than one reason why she ended up calling him by that name. Itachi wasn't Eiji. She knew that. But then again, she did have a terrible tendency to mix things up sometimes.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ Sorry if it's a bit boring and stuff. I've decided to take this story real slow to take time for the characters to grow into each other, if that makes sense. We all know Itachi isn't like Naruto whose entire personality is like an open book. Itachi is a difficult nut to crack and I doubt it's possible to get to this good side after only a short time. Nah. This may not sound much but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that these kinds of nonchalant encounters could be Itachi's key to figuring Shiori out or something...Whatever. To the few people who take time to review I thank you all very much. You guys are one of the reasons why I post "just one more chapter" every time. I take what I can from your input to figure out what to do with this story. Thanks again!


	5. Secrets

DISCLAIMER: Naruto and friends belongs to Kishi.

* * *

"Well _that_ took you longer than expected, sharkboy."

"A few adjustments had to be made."

Their journey ended in a warehouse situated in the civilian sector in the Land of Iron. A gray-haired man with a scythe resting on his shoulder greeted them with a casual nod. Kisame gave him a small wave. Behind him, Itachi and Shiori stood quietly beside each other. Hidan took a peek behind the giant swordsman.

"Well hello there, Itachi-kun! How are you doing? I see you're still as peachy as ever." Hidan chirped at him only to be met with cold indifference. With an annoyed sigh he walked over to where the younger shinobi stood. His sharp eyes trained on the cloaked person right next to him. She was a head shorter than the Uchiha and her features were hidden underneath a worn hood.

"Does the Witch of Shimogakure have a face?"

Shiori pulled her hood down, wincing when the icy air pricked on her cheeks. Hidan grinned widely.

"Ah, not bad. You got yourself a good one, Itachi! Say, you're about eighteen now, aren't you? About time you got yourself some, if you know what I mean."

Shiori snorted inwardly. Uchiha Itachi may be many things but a virgin wasn't one of them, not by a long-shot.

The dark-haired boy seemed unfazed by Hidan's blatant innuendos and cut straight to the point. "Tell Kakuzu we're here to aid his search."

"Aye Cap'n," the other S-nin replied, turning to Shiori. "A word of caution: My man Kakuzu isn't exactly known for his patience. We're expecting to earn a couple million ryos after our transaction ends so I expect you do well. And-wait a minute. Is that _my_ coat?"

"Of course not," Shiori bit back defensively. It probably was.

* * *

Much to Shiori's chagrin she once again came face to face with another man tied up in a chair. The only consolation was that this time, he didn't look like he had been tortured and left for dead. He was merely unconscious. A curtain of chin-length hair covered his face. Kakuzu walked over to where she stood and began flipping through his bingo book.

"Who is he?" Shiori asked, not taking her eyes off of the captive.

"He is a guard who works for the Sound Daimyo," the masked shinobi replied.

"I meant his name."

"It doesn't matter who he is. What matters is that you find this man for us." Kakuzu shoved the book in front of her and pointed at the picture of a man with a Sound Village hitai-ate on his forehead. The name "Haruyama Kurei" was written below the mugshot.

"It's Sendai Mako," Hidan piped up from where he stood in one corner with Kisame and Itachi. The lone lightbulb flickering above them cast an eerie glow on his toothy grin. "Hope that helps."

Not wasting any more time, Shiori took off her gloves and tucked them in her pocket. She walked over to the unconscious man and cupped his cheeks, tilting his head up. Already, she could feel herself getting lost in the endless abyss created by his memories.

"Let's get this over with, Mako-san."

And with that, she pressed her lips against his forehead.

* * *

It didn't take long for her to find the Sound-nin's face in the haze of Mako's mind. Within moments she found herself face-to-face with none other than Haruyama Kurei. They were inside a small hut. Outside the windows, all she could see were the endless green of the rice fields. The fields and the mountains surrounding them rang a bell in her own mind.

'Inaho Village. Land of Sound,' she thought to herself. She had no doubt about it.

"You've just signed a death warrant for yourself by helping me," Kurei said to his new contact. "I hope you're aware of that."

Mako's lips stretched into a wry smile. "People like me don't live long anyway. And if I can take our rotten Daimyo with me to Hell then so be it."

"Fair enough. Tell me everything you know."

The scene shifted abruptly and she found herself eavesdropping on a conversation between two men. She frantically scanned through Mako's memories and realized that she was in the estate owned by the Sound Daimyo himself. He and three other guards were patrolling the room's parameters. Mako marched forward until he reached the sitting area where the Daimyo was in. The man he was speaking to had long hair and pale, almost translucent skin. It took her a few seconds and a hiss coming from the sinister-looking stranger to realize who he was.

'Orochimaru,' Shiori thought, recalling the sannin from Itachi's more recent memories. She knew he wanted to claim the Uchiha's body once and that had been highly unsuccessful. She wondered what he was up to now.

"I know of seventeen clans with bloodline limits residing in the Land of Sound," the Daimyo spoke in a soft voice. "I doubt there could be more than that but I can always ask my men to clarify the figures. I'll send you the list in three days."

"Very well," Orochimaru replied, his raspy voice sending a chill down Mako's spine. "And remember, your list is useless if I don't get a few specimen from each clan.

Mako's face remained blank but Shiori could feel the anger roaring within him at Orochimaru's callous words. 'These are people he is talking about, sick fuck,' he thought, scandalized.

The Daimyo mulled over the sannin's request. "Very well. Consider it done."

The scene disintegrated into a cloud of black smoke and she found Mako and herself inside the safehouse once again. Kurei was with them, his face dark with worry and anger. He walked over to one of the windows and gazed at the rice fields. "We need to warn them. All of them. A handful of shinobi I know belong to some of the seventeen clans the Daimyo was talking about. They will not take this lightly."

"I can help you with that, Kurei-san," Mako volunteered.

"It's not safe here anymore. Get out while you still can. And your wife, isn't she-"

"A wielder of the Shakoton, a bloodline limit. My five-year old daughter is showing signs of possessing this ability as well." Pride swelled in Mako's voice when he said this. "If we run now then we'll spend our entire lives in fear, wondering when Orochimaru's men will catch up with us. I have all the reasons in the world to join this fight now."

'Even if it costs me my life,' Mako thought to himself, closing his eyes in acceptance.

When he opened them, he came face to face with a beautiful woman. As she stared back, Shiori could see Mako's reflection in her bright brown eyes.

"Something's bothering you," the woman said. By the gentle way he held her, Shiori could tell this was his wife. "You know you can tell me, right? Whatever happens, you will always have me."

* * *

"Does she always to that?" Hidan asked. The four Akatsuki members had stepped aside in one corner as Shiori scanned through their captive's mind. The immortal man referred to the strange way the girl was holding on to Mako. Ever since she started, she had kept her lips pressed against his forehead.

Kisame shifted on his feet. "Actually, that's the first time I've seen her do it too."

"She can't be hitting on him so what's the deal?" Hidan wondered out loud.

"Perhaps it enhances her bloodline limit, make her go through his memories faster," Itachi said. It was a silly hypothesis but it was the only thing that came to mind.

"A kiss in exchange for your entire life. Brilliant," Kakuzu commented, making everyone chuckle except Itachi. His mind reeled back to the day of her own capture, how her lips brushed against the tiniest exposed part of his neck before she succumbed to his genjutsu. Realization dawned on him like a splash of icy water to the face. It explained everything, the insane reason why she tapped onto so much of his mind in so little time. She probably knew more than she had led him to believe. Itachi cursed inwardly.

Shiori pulled away from Mako less than a minute later. Within that short amount of time she began to look at him in a different light.

'This is one of the good guys,' she thought. This was someone who sincerely cared about his country and its people. And she, Sotome Shiori, will be the one to topple down all the accomplishments he had risked his life for. Kakuzu walked over to her, stopping so close to where she stood that she felt her personal space being invaded.

"Speak."

Fear forced the words to stumble out of her mouth. This time, Shiori knew she was in her element. Her ability was maximized to its full potential. She was efficient and it shamed her. Silently, she prayed that Haruyama Kurei had noticed Mako's disappearance and had escaped by now.

"The Sound Daimyo," she continued. "He's a corrupt man who's not afraid to sell people out if only to guarantee his title. He's working with an Orochimaru. I saw him and the Daimyo talking." With this, she glanced at Itachi whose glowing Sharingan glared back at her.

"He's after everyone in the Land of Sound who possesses a bloodline limit. I think we need to stop him."

"Guess he hasn't stopped his sick experiments yet," Kisame muttered. He hadn't been in the Akatsuki long enough to meet the Sannin but he had heard enough to know that he didn't like him.

"Listen sweetheart, we already _know_ that the Daimyo is a good-for-nothing bastard but we can't kill him just yet...not until after we get paid anyway," Hidan sighed, walking over to Mako before pulling his hair to lift his head up. Shiori gasped. "You mean he's-"

"Yup," Hidan chirped. "He's the one who's paying us millions in exchange for Kurei's head. We're freelancers and we're not exactly choosy."

"And now that we've confirmed that he's collaborating with Orochimaru, we have more reasons to keep him alive." Kakuzu turned to Shiori who shrunk under his green-eyed scrutiny. "You killed two birds with one stone, witch. You're not half as bad as you look." He turned to Itachi and chuckled. "I suggest you keep this one as a long term pet, Uchiha. We'll find more use for her in the future."

Shiori relaxed a bit when Itachi walked over and stood between her and Kakuzu. Though she didn't feel safe anywhere anymore, she thought she could guarantee her survival longer if she stuck with the dark-haired shinobi.

"Our job is done here. We're leaving," he said to Kakuzu. He turned to Shiori and nodded at her. Kisame adjusted the Samehada on his back in preparation for another long walk."

"Wait. What's gonna happen to Mako-san?" Shiori asked. She could still see his wife and daughters in her mind and she felt terrible that she knew where he was while they didn't.

A heavy silence filled the room which was broken by the loud-mouthed Hidan. "He's going with me. It's time for him to meet the Almighty Jashin."

"Jashin?"

"That's code name for a slow and painful death," Kisame replied, earning himself a terrified look from Shiori. He grinned. "Thought Hidan was a good guy, didn't you? Sorry kid but you've put your faith in the wrong killer."

Shiori's wide-eyed gaze shifted to Hidan who only winked at her as he pulled Mako over his shoulder.

"But...he has a family waiting for him! His daughters..."

The flutter of her erratic heartbeats overtook her words and soon she found it difficult to talk. She had been thorough with finding Kurei so that they wouldn't have to take out their frustrations on Mako. The bounty was on the Sound-nin's head. She didn't deem it necessary to punish the guard with death. Before she could think twice she ran over to where Kakuzu now stood. The masked shinobi tensed as he saw her heading his way.

"Touch me and I wouldn't think twice about cutting those hands off-"

"Please, Kakuzu-san!" she begged, bowing her head down. "Please let Mako-san go! I swear on my life I've told you everything he knows. We've taken everything we could from him. He deserves to go!"

A low rumble emanated from his throat. It took her a while to realize that he was laughing. "You foolish little girl. You have so much to learn. That's not how things work with us."

* * *

It was nighttime when they arrived at the Minshuku. Shiori wordlessly went through the motions. Kisame rented them the largest room available. After taking a few directions from the young housekeeper, she dragged her feet to the farthest corner of the room and settled on her prepared futon. She vaguely heard Kisame and Itachi talking about having a bath before the duo left her at the mercy of her own thoughts. As soon as the sound of their footsteps disappeared, she let the sick feeling in her stomach wash over her and dry-heaved on her knees.

Too much.

Two words that summed up everything that her life had become. Too much to take in. Too much to stomach. Too much guilt to live with and too much death she had caused. Not only had she helped the Akatsuki catch scent of Kurei's whereabouts, she had also ripped away from Mako the only thing that had kept him alive, which was intel. Somewhere out there, a woman had become a widow. Two sisters had lost their father. And though Shiori was far from capable of delivering a death blow she had seen too much that she could already imagine the smell of blood coming from her own hands.

Itachi approached her again later that night. Out of his Akatsuki cloak and mangled hitai-ate, he finally looked his age. The dark blue yukata he wore fit perfectly on his lean frame. Its low neckline exposed the pale skin of his chest and added a certain kind of appeal to his already handsome features. At any other given day, this kind of sight would have caused her to do a fist pump in the air and run into her bestfriend Miyako to report to her the beautiful creature she had just witnessed.

'Not tonight, Kami. Enough of your twisted sense of perverted humor,' she thought to herself. Tonight, she was going to wallow in guilt and self-pity.

Oblivious to her inner musings, Itachi came and sat beside her. He mimicked her position by hugging his knees and resting his chin on his knees, an act which made him look unusually human.

"Where's Kisame-san?"

"Out. I think." He looked at her with harmless obsidian eyes, frowning slightly when Shiori quickly avoided his gaze. "You're still thinking about that man."

She was but she didn't feel like she had to say anything about that.

"Shiori-san, look at me." He expected her to resist, to stubbornly continue staring at his feet. But angry gray eyes obliged and met his gaze with a watery glare.

"What?"

"That man knew what he was getting into the minute he decided to help Haruyama. If Hidan didn't kill him, someone else would have."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Feeling bold all of a sudden, she shifted so that she was fully facing Itachi. "Not everyone can lie to himself as flawlessly as you can, Uchiha-san."

The young shinobi's face remained neutral, making Shiori wonder as to just how emotionally detached he really was.

"Maybe so," he replied coolly. "But even you will learn to live with it eventually. I suggest you start now."

"I don't _want_ to learn to live with it!" Again, too much. He was asking for too much.

"You have to. It's the only way you'll survive."

This time she backed down. She cannot reason with him. Begrudgingly, she reminded herself that the Itachi in front of her was an emotionless killing machine. The boy that he was in his memories was either gone or hidden somewhere she couldn't reach. She thought that the sooner she made peace with that fact, the less frustrated she will become.

"Wanna hear something funny, Uchiha-san? The entire time I was in his mind, I thought he reminded him of you. Mako-san was a good man and he was kind. He was cunning but whatever he did, he did it because he knew in his heart that it was right. You may have been that kind of man once. Now, I'm not so sure."

Shiori excused herself before crawling into her futon, which lied a foot away from where he sat. Even as she turned her back on him and pulled the covers well over her neck, she could still feel him looking at her, staring a hole through her back and into her soul.

* * *

The next day they headed back to the rusty warehouse and did two more interrogations before Kakuzu was contented enough to call it a day. Luckily for Shiori, both of the captives were hardened criminals. She numbed down the red-hot guilt she felt with the help of their rage and the images of the many gruesome murders they had committed. This time, she felt like she was doing the world a favor. Itachi had acted more humane for her sake and had ushered her and Kisame out of the godforsaken place before Hidan could provide them with details on what he planned to do with the two captives.

Later that day, Kisame thumbed through the fresh ryo bills they had acquired from Kakuzu. It was decided that they were going to get a percentage of the income from the bingo book assassinations because their asset had played a vital role in pinpointing the targets' whereabouts. Since Hidan and Kakuzu operated countries away from Itachi and Kisame, they deemed it fair that the latter got their compensations early. With the amount of intel they acquired, the missions were guaranteed to be a success anyway. Right after crossing the border of the Land of Sound, Kisame insisted that they started shopping.

"Even S-ranked criminals like ourselves aren't exempted from mundane tasks," he said. "The groceries can wait but there are things I need to buy _right now_. And you too Shiori. You could get something to wear other than that horrible frock you have on."

Shiori agreed with Kisame all the way. While she was eternally thankful that Konan and Fudo, the old housekeeper, had been hospitable enough to give her the basic toiletries, she would prefer using shampoo which wouldn't have her smelling like a man. And then there was the issue with her _frock_ (Since she was still trying to get into Kisame's good side she was going to stay mum about the fact that said _frock_ had been his shirt at one time). It was simply too large for her. It kept on trying to slide off of her as well, alternating from one shoulder to another. At one point, the wind blew it in such a way that it caused it to slip off both of her shoulders at once. She managed to catch it just in time before she flashed at Itachi who turned around to check on her at that very opportune moment. Not only did it defeat its purpose of covering as much of her skin as possible, it had scarred her and the young man for life.

"How about it, Shio-chan? You up for it?" The new nickname blurted out by Kisame's rough voice pulled her out of her mortifying thoughts.

"I just remembered. I left all of my money in Shimo," she replied.

"Well you're the one who brought in the money so I'm guessing it's fair to charge your tabs on us. Don't you agree Itachi-san?"

"Hn." Itachi had been trailing behind since they started their trek from the Land of Iron. Shiori thought he looked paler than usual. His shoulders were slumped and despite his silence, she could tell he was having difficulty catching his breath.

"Are you sure you're okay with it, Uchiha-san?" she asked tentatively.

"Ah. Why wouldn't I be?" he replied, which made the teenage girl quiet with wonder. She looked at Kisame, whose glare only told her one thing.

'Don't go there.'

* * *

It was an old trick she learned way back. As soon as they stepped in one of the local shops, she made a beeline for the female aisle and armed herself with boxes of tampons, sanitary napkins and every pink-handled razor she could get her hands on. The two S-ranked shinobi froze on the top of the aisle, unsure of what to do next. When she motioned at them to come closer using a hand which held a bottle of feminine wash, the duo did a one-eighty and headed the other way. She could vaguely hear Kisame reasoning to Itachi that she couldn't run that far anyway. Shiori basked in her accomplishment. As silly as the situation was, she had won this time.

She spent the rest of her solitary afternoon window shopping. The Land of Sound had a quaint little shopping district dotted with numerous little shops. The dark-haired girl peeked into every window she passed by to admire the decorations. At least for a few hours, she could pretend she was back on Shimo and that life was back to normal.

'As normal as it could possibly get when there are people who are convinced that you're a witch,' she thought to herself. She dug inside the pockets of her brand-new trousers and found she still had some money left. She spotted the local apothecary and decided she could use a cough syrup or two to help her sleep. As soon as she went in she realized that it was empty save for one other customer.

"Uchiha-san."

Itachi looked just as surprised to see her there. He gave her a quick once-over, noticing that she had ditched the hand-me-downs and had bought new clothes which were her size. Feigning non-chalance, he turned his attention back to the chemist and gave her his prescription.

"What are you here for? You don't look sick," he queried, giving her a curious look.

Shiori debated with herself whether or not she should let him in on her plan to commit drug misuse. She decided not to. "You first. What are _you_ here for?"

"Hn," he scoffed at her just in time for the chemist to return with a full paperbag. After murmuring a deep "thank-you" he turned around and saw Shiori eyeing his medications worriedly. His stomach coiled with unease.

'Does she know?'

"Uchiha-san. Seriously. What are those for?"

He bent forward until his eyes were leveled with hers. He smirked when Shiori jumped at their sudden close proximity.

"I said-"

He tapped his nose twice with his index finger. "Don't be nosy."

Shiori stared at his back as he exited out of the apothecary. From a distance he looked as fit and healthy as any young man his age. Even the way he walked spoke volumes of how much he was truly capable of. And yet, something kept on bothering her, something which, despite her internal protests with herself, made her worry for the young shinobi. Her thoughts went back to the incident a couple of hours back.

In the wee hours of morning she was awakened by the sound of someone having a coughing fit. The longer she tried to ignore it, the worse it became. The coughs were accompanied with wet, chesty gurgles. Every breath that preceded it wheezed with labor. Whoever it was, it sounded to Shiori like he was drowning. She turned in her futon and was surprised to see that it was Itachi.

He was curled on his side a few feet from her. His entire face had gone red. Beads of sweat fell on his furrowed eyebrows. Each cough racked violently throughout his entire body and it sounded like he was coughing out more air than he could breathe.

"Uchiha-san," she called out, voice still husky from sleep. She made a move to go near him but stopped when Itachi's body tensed. The way he was grimacing made him look as if he was in a lot of pain. He even had to hold his breath.

"Hey. Hey-!"

"Leave him," Kisame intercepted from the other end of the room. He too had sat up on his futon, eyeing his writhing comrade. "You'll regret waking him up. Trust me."

That same moment, Itachi gasped deeply and turned on his back. Shiori's eyes never left him until his breathing grew calmer and the gurgling sound in his chest subsided. The angry blush on his face faded until it was nothing more than faint pink stains on his cheeks. And then he was quiet again. It was as if nothing happened.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. Now go back to sleep." However, something about the way Kisame was looking at his partner told her otherwise.

Shiori frowned as the memory replayed in her head. One thing was for sure. Uchiha Itachi was hiding something. And somehow, she couldn't figure out what it was.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well...sorry for the delay. I'd make up a really genius excuse but then that would only make me sound like Kakashi so.. Again, thank you oh so much for those of you who reviewed, liked and favorited. I'm not gonna lie, I like reviews better especially con-crits. At this rate I _may_ have a clue as to where this is heading and how to get there but they're all pretty vague and stuff. I just hope you guys stick around long enough to find out. Dunno if the long chapter is a good thing or a bad thing but...hope you liked it.


	6. Talk

**Disclaimer:** Naruto is still not mine.

* * *

The months dragged by slowly. Shiori began to feel like a tool rather than an actual person. Most of her time was spent being loaned to other pairs in the Akatsuki, particularly those whose missions involved interrogation. With Kakuzu's endorsement, she had become known for providing them with almost instantaneous answers to every query which normally would have taken countless hours of torture and coercion. Her days were filled with fear and uncertainty. She was surrounded by some of the deadliest criminals produced by the strongest shinobi countries and they more than enjoyed reminding her of that every chance they got. However their torments never went beyond death threats and being shouted at, a fact which made her feel forever grateful.

Everyone knew she was the Uchiha's ward. It had been blurted out and whispered harshly in moments when an Akatsuki member or their associates were about to lash out at her. The title had given her immunity, making her untouchable of sorts, much like Sasori's sleeper agents and Kakuzu's collectors. It didn't take Shiori long to figure out why. Despite his young age, Itachi was one of the organization's most feared member. He gained further notoriety when word got out that he had singlehandedly defeated the legendary Orochimaru. With that in mind, she realized that the deadlier the asset's handler was, the better he or she faired. She doubted that she would've lasted as long as she did without the Uchiha's name to back her up.

She would jump around from one pair to the next but a month never passed by without her being handed back to Itachi. She refused to think she looked forward to those days. In fact, she had talked herself into thinking that this was the part she found the most troublesome. It almost felt like she was about to take a test that she didn't study on.

It didn't matter if they had not seen each other for days or weeks, whether she came back on fleek or soaking wet with half of her body covered in mud. After receiving report from the one handing her over, the first thing he would do was look at her from head to foot with his Sharingan. It preceded any greeting or small talk. And then he asks for her version of how the mission went. More than once she had asked him why they had to do it, especially if the reports had been impeccable and detailed. And every time, he would tell her the same thing.

"That was a different report. Now give me yours."

And so she did. In most instances her accounts held no information which the previous report by the Akatsuki didn't already mention. She knew it was just Itachi being the overly-thorough person that he was. But sometimes she would pretend that he did it for the sake of conversation. It amazed her how much horror she was willing to forget to escape the loneliness of not having anyone to talk to for days.

* * *

That night was the first time she had seen the Uchiha in three weeks. It was Sasori who had handed her over and so she looked put-together and clean. As expected from the puppet master, the report was long and detailed. It covered all possible angles and left no stones unturned. When he finished, Sasori walked over to her, a small smirk playing on his lips. "We'll be seeing each other again, Shiori-chan."

Shiori bowed down in farewell. She watched him go before turning to Itachi who had activated his Sharingan and had begun his routine once-over. As usual, she avoided his gaze.

"So..." she started, trying to disperse the awkward tension between them. "Did you miss me?"

Itachi replied with his own signature smirk. "Hn."

Shiori chuckled before following him wordlessly into the former temple-turned-headquarters.

"Come and join me for tea," he said, not bothering to look over his shoulder. She shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

They walked over to the dining area. A ceramic kettle was perched in the middle of the dining table. Itachi motioned at her to have a seat while he took out two cups from the overhead cupboard. Shiori knelt silently as she observed him. She found herself staring at the muscles in his forearms. Every movement caused them to ripple underneath his smooth, alabaster skin. Even the simple act of reaching over showcased an almost feline grace about him.

 _'The word is attractive, Shiori. He looks attractive,'_ A voice popped in her head. She immediately pushed it out of her thoughts and trained her gaze on a spot in the tatami mat before Itachi could turn to face her. He set the cups in place and poured tea for the both of them.

"Thanks," she murmured, wrapping her cold fingers around the warm ceramic. "Shall I begin with the report?"

"Not tonight," he replied, sipping from his steaming cup.

Shiori looked up. Confusion was written all over her face. If Itachi didn't want the report then she couldn't figure out why he bothered with tea.

"I want to talk about something else."

"Alright, shoot. What do you want to talk about?"

"Your bloodline limit." Obsidian locked on gray. Again instinct kicked in and she looked away. A pang of annoyance erupted in his belly but he continued. "You see I'm beginning to feel like a hypocrite. I go around telling people that you're my ward and you are under my control. I make it look like I know everything there is to know about you but the truth is, my knowledge of how your ability works is just as limited as everyone else's."

Shiori was still lost. "What's left to know about? Even Kisame is aware of how it works and barks like mad when I get too near him. And _you_ were aware that this is a bloodline limit before I did. I just thought this was an anomaly."

"Sendai Mako. Why did you kiss him?"

The question had been so random and so unexpected that it threw her off guard. She nearly choked on her piping hot drink. That wasn't even the best part. It was the way Itachi said it. The accusatory tone of his voice made the whole thing sound more scandalous that it was. Shiori couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Itachi asked, not bothering to hide his displeasure at her reaction. His _ward_ had the audacity to laugh at him, something he hadn't experienced before. The last person who had a good laugh at his expense had been Shisui and that had been different. Shisui was ranked _above_ him. She didn't.

"Forgive me, Uchiha-san," Shiori apologized. Even then her words shook with laughter. "It was the way you said it..." she trailed. Itachi's eyebrow had gone dangerously high. She piped down.

"Does kissing someone enhance your ability to read them?"

Shiori nodded. "Apparently it does."

"Has it happened before?" Itachi didn't get a direct confirmation. He didn't have to. The angry blush that crept up her cheeks told him everything.

"A few years back," she replied after a long pause. "I thought it was a fluke, a one-time thing, you know." She lied. Shiori thought it was a special connection she had shared with some boy but she didn't want to sound like a sap in front of the Uchiha. "Then it happened again with you. I'm not saying I _kissed_ you or anything but it was a...compromising position. Even with the genjutsu I was aware enough to know that the reading was different, more detailed than it ought to have been considering...well, the um, _contact_ lasted less than a second."

 _'Go you!'_ her inner voice cheered. _'Five minutes into meeting him and you have already succeeded in necking him. Gah!'_

Across the table, Itachi watched with mild fascination as Shiori squirmed in her seat, flustered with the realization of what happened on their first meeting. When she was being like that, Itachi could read her like an open book. His male ego inflated when he realized that he was capable of bothering her without even lifting a finger. He cocked his head to one side and leaned forward, folding his arms and resting them on the table in front of him. "Go on."

"So by then I thought that if it could happen with a stranger I just met then it can't possibly be a fluke. I didn't need luck to read people better. I just needed to stick my mouth on them. I tried it with Mako-san and it worked."

She finished her tea with one long gulp and continued to stare down at the bottom of her cup. What happened with Itachi and Mako had added fuel to the fire which ate the fantasy that she had fooled herself to believe. Being able to read someone better didn't make him her soulmate. It only meant she had found a better way to use her ability.

The connection she had fought so hard for in the past was nothing but a delusion which had sent her into cloud nine. When reality pulled her back to the ground and made her see that her _soulmate_ wasn't willing to fight the stigma of having a relationship with the witch, it had hurt like Hell. It still did.

'Time to change the subject,' she thought to herself.

"Uchiha-san."

"Itachi."

Shiori looked at him questioningly. He clarified, "You sound like you're talking to my father. Call me Itachi." She had smiled then. A part of him was tempted to smile back.

"Itachi-san," she started again. "Be honest with me. You're still thinking about the reading aren't you? You're wondering if I know everything now."

"Not everything. You can't possibly watch my entire life unfold in less than a second," he replied. If she had to ask him about the medicine he was taking then it meant there were some things which had remained unknown to her.

"You're right. I didn't." She was about to sigh in relief, thinking she was off the hook.

"So what _did_ you see?"

Shiori was reluctant. "But-"

"You went inside my head without my permission. I need to know what you saw. And please, don't go easy for my sake."

She sighed loudly, grabbing the ceramic kettle and pouring herself more tea.

"I know about the massacre, had glimpses of it. It was one of your strongest memories." She ran a shaking hand through her hair as the gory images of that night danced behind her eyelids. "I know about the deal you made with Danzo. You'll probably hate me for saying this but I'm so sorry. I'm sorry it happened to you, Itachi-san."

Contrary to what many people were led to believe, Itachi wasn't the catalyst of the massacre. He was merely a tool. There were so many factors that came to play and he was the thirteen-year old boy who was stuck in the middle of it all. He was pushed against a corner and was forced to take a side. In the end he chose what he thought was for the best of the majority of people, and mostly, for the best of his otouto Sasuke, even if it was at the expense of his honor.

"What else did you see?" His voice was eerily quiet. Both his hands had gone white-knuckled from being curled into tight fists.

"Your cat mask," she replied. Why he wore a mask with his jounin outfit, she'd rather now know. "I didn't see the day you were born but I know your birthday. I didn't see Sasuke-kun until he was a few months old. The next time I saw him, he was old enough to talk. I saw you at school. You hated it," she smiled. "Although if I had been in your position, with as much knowledge about the world as you did at that time, I probably would've hated it too. I saw you training with Shisui. I know you looked up to him. You still do. I saw your first kiss with a pretty girl named Izumi. Anyone can tell that she loved you very much." Even then, Itachi had too much baggage to surpass that love but he tried to make up for it the best way he knew how. Shiori admired him for it.

She never got to find out what happened to Shisui and Izumi. But considering they were part of the cursed clan, she'd rather play dumb and stay ignorant to their final fates.

Shiori took his cup and poured him another drink. "I know it disgusted you when you had to do that to your hitai-ate." She nodded at his forehead protector, which had a jagged line that ran through Konoha's symbol.

Itachi ran a finger through its damage for the nth time. "You saw that huh."

"Your Sharingan has another form. Whenever you use that form for too long, it sends your entire body into fits of pain." With the way Itachi's face darkened, she could tell it was a secret he preferred to have kept to himself. She countered it with a lighter fact. "Remember what Hidan said from last time?"

The only sign of Itachi's mortification was the way his eyes rounded for a split second. Everything else was stock still.

"His advise was too little too late."

"What are you talking about?" he deadpanned, wishing to the gods above that he didn't blush.

Shiori gaped at him. "Do I need to spell it out? Geez. You've been getting some since your fifteenth birday. Juzo made sure of it. Don't worry. I won't judge you." It wasn't like she was in a position to judge since she herself wasn't squeaky clean.

"There are worse tings to judge me with other than premarital sex." To make his point, he stuck his tongue to his cheek. There was already a long and growing list of things that Itachi regretted. He flat out refused to put this particular act in it.

"Touche."

On and on their conversation went. Most of it was about random, unrelated facts that Shiori's quick reading had provided. Some were harmless. A few were vital enough to compromise an entire village's safety. He decided not to tell her this in the hopes that she would one day forget about them.

Before they knew it, time had flown. Itachi was surprised when the wallclock behind her indicated that it was well into the wee hours of morning. Shiori was just as surprised. She didn't think Itachi was the type who could stand long conversations. Most people were lucky to get a "Hn" out of him. She also realized that spending time with the enigmatic shinobi wasn't as horrifying as she first made it out to be. Despite his aloof attitude, he had made her laugh more than once with his dry humor and quick remarks. She thought that had she met him under different circumstances, perhaps they could've become fast friends.

"What are you thinking about?" His deep voice brought her out of her musings. He had walked with Shiori into the vast labyrinth of the ancient building and they were now standing by the door leading to her room.

"What ifs. What ifs are always more interesting than reality, don't you think?"

"I disagree. Reality is interesting enough for me at the moment."

She smiled. He smirked.

Shiori ducked before the heat on her face could turn her cheeks pink.

"Goodnight, Itachi-san."

.

 _Conversations really are the best after three am. The heavier the eyelids, the sincerer the words and silence is not awkward, it's shared  
\- Dau Voire_

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Nothing much is going on in this chapter so I'm sorry if that bored you. Pretty much stuck with the title, "Talk". I just wanted to capture an instance of the two behaving like normal humans for once, which is tricky if their topic of choice is about their respective kekkei genkai. Plus, I want to balance the whole thing and not make it too dark and depressing. Again, thanks for those who have reviewed. If you're still with me in this chapter and have yet to press the review button, do leave a review. I want to know your thoughts you guys. The more detailed, the better because I want to find out how to improve this piece. There's always room for improvement.


	7. Breaking Point

He felt the kunai before he could see it. He tilted his head just as it was about to nick him in the ear and heard it whiz past him. That fleeting moment was all he needed to gauge the location of his opponent. With a speed too fast for the naked eye to see, he formed the hand seals for the jutsu and aimed at a distance behind him.

"Fire style. Fireball Jutsu."

Kisame emerged from his hiding place and jumped right into the path of the speeding fireball, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Water style! Shark Bomb Jutsu!"

The combination of fire and water created a massive explosion which shook the entire headquarters. The sound of the two elements colliding could be heard many kilometers away.

On the other hand, Itachi had gone blind. He didn't have excellent eyesight to begin with but the scalding steam that engulfed him had made it impossible to see. Almost on instinct, his Sharingan activated, warning him of the Samehada coming down from above his head. He jumped out of the way just as the giant sword created a massive crater on the ground he just stood on.

"I told you not to go easy on me!" Kisame growled.

Itachi smirked. He could tell that his teammate was struggling to stop his heavy body's momentum. Taking advantage of this, he wielded a kunai with his left hand and slashed at Kisame's torso.

"Whoa!" The swordsman weaved out of the kunai's way. In retaliation, he grabbed Itachi's wrist. With both of his hands full, he had no choice but to take the younger boy's spinning back kick at the side of his face.

What had once began as a battle between nature transformation techniques turned into a taijutsu match. Itachi met each of Kisame's strike by blocking and even then he had managed to sneak in numerous counterattacks. What he lacked in strength he made up for in speed. Kisame aimed for the vital spots, his heart, his eyes and his joints. Itachi wanted him to have a taste of his own medicine by aiming for his neck when the presence of two other chakra signatures piqued his curiosity. Kisame caught him by the wrist and was on the process of breaking it.

"Let me go. People are coming this way."

The echo of a slow clap emanated from the entrance of their training ground. Two silhouettes emerged from the haze and steam hanging in the air.

"Impressive. Looks like we caught you in a good time," Hidan admired from afar. Him and Kakuzu made their way to the other S-rank pair until they stood face to face.

"Goodmorning," Kakuzu greeted. "It's been awhile, don't you agree?"

Kisame grinned showing rows of sharp teeth. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing. What brings you here?"

"Oh you know, the usual," Hidan replied nonchalantly. "Trying to make the Akatsuki richer one bounty at a time. That and an interrogation assignment. We need to borrow your girlfriend, Itachi-kun."

Itachi and Kisame exchanged looks. "What's this about?" the former asked.

Kakuzu's reply was enough to put the four of them on edge. "It's about the jinchuriki of the seven-tails. It's not common knowledge since majority of the village elders wanted as few people to know as possible. But sources said that she's travelling outside of Takigakure soon. We need to find out where."

* * *

For the second time that week, Itachi found himself navigating their headquarter's maze-like hallways with the raven-haired girl. The silence between the two of them was thick with tension. Shiori had been the first to cave in and say something about it.

"How bad do you think is this reading going to be?"

Itachi took his time with his reply. "I'll let you decide for yourself."

He had found her in the moss garden talking to Fudo the caretaker. Some time during their conversation, the old man had said something which caused Shiori to explode with laughter. This unguarded display of emotion from her had been one of the most sincere images he had seen in a long time. He found it hard to admit to himself but something about its crudeness actually made it endearing for him. A heavy feeling filled his stomach when he realized that he had to put a stop to it. He doubted that he would see her laughing for the next couple of days after this.

Hidan and Kakuzu were already in the interrogation room by the time they arrived. In the middle of the room, strapped into a wooden chair was a young man with gray hair and a Takigakure hitai-ate which kept his fringes away from his face. His head hung to one side as he sat unconscious.

Mechanically, Shiori walked over to Kakuzu to obtain her target. When the mercenary opened the envelope and revealed a photograph, Shiori gasped out loud. Even from afar, Itachi could tell that she had started panicking.

'Dammit,' he thought to himself.

Shiori's gray-eyed gaze never left the image in front of her. It was a blown-up photograph of a young girl. Her amber eyes stood out from the background, complimented perfectly by her bright green hair.

"Her name is Fu," Kakuzu said. "She's a kunoichi of Takigakure and the jinchuriki of the seven-tails. I'm guessing from your reaction that you know what this means. Find her for me."

Another bout of deafening silence fell in the room. All eyes were on Shiori as she stood stock still in front of Kakuzu, neither meeting his gaze nor saying anything to acknowledge his order.

"Sotome Shiori. Did you hear what I just said?"

"I can't."

"What?" Kakuzu stepped back, incredulous.

"What the hell is she up to now?" Hidan wondered, turning to Itachi. The latter remained quiet and observed the scene unfold with a frown on his face.

Meanwhile, Shiori felt trapped. She knew that if the Akatsuki was hunting down the young girl in the picture, it could only mean one thing: They wanted her dead. If she did the interrogation and started the chain of events leading to Fu's doom, she knew that her conscience would never let her live with it. On the other hand if she remained stubborn and refused to do what she was told until the very end, it will be _her_ death that she was going to cause.

"I-I..." Shiori stammered, licking her lips nervously. "I said I can't. She can't be older than me, look at her! And she has done nothing wrong. Why would you want her dead?"

"What makes you think you have the right to know that?" Kakuzu replied, stepping closer towards the resistant ward. His sheer size intimidated the young girl who clearly shrunk back.

"Let me make this clear to you. You are the property of Akatsuki, not a member of it. No one cares what you want or don't want to do. The reason we're keeping you alive is to help us achieve our goals. If you can't do that then I don't know why I'm even talking to you. So start moving."

Shiori didn't budge. She didn't dare look at Hidan and Itachi's way. She knew their silence was a blatant disapproval of her rebellion. She was all alone in this one. Her gaze landed back at Fu's smiling face. Inside, her conscience begged at her to do the right thing. While it wasn't something she was proud of, she was aware that her cursed ability had caused the downfall of many men and women. However in the past, all of them had been guilty of something, be it espionage, murder or staging a coup d'etat. She understood why people paid mercenaries like Kakuzu and Hidan to take them down.

This time it was different. They were after a girl whose only fault had been that her elders decided to put a beast inside her before she was barely old enough to decide whether or not she wanted this kind of life for herself. Shiori couldn't stomach the fact that people were targeting her to the death because of this.

A cold pressure on her throat brought her out of her thoughts. She shrieked in horror when she realized that it was Hidan's scythe pressed against her skin.

"Now you're just being rude, Shiori-chan. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to disrespect your elders?" Hidan's cackle was cut short by Itachi's deep voice.

"If you think she needs to die then I'll kill her myself."

He was so fast that neither Kakuzu nor Hidan realized what happened until Itachi had pressed the kunai on Hidan's neck. The Jashinist burst out laughing.

"I never pegged you for a fool, 'tachi-kun. That kunai of yours won't kill me."

"Who said anything about killing you? You were implying that rudeness needs to be punished, were you not? This is me agreeing with you." Despite the lack of mockery in his tone, anyone could pinpoint the threat behind his words.

"That's enough!" Kakuzu roared, making all eyes turn on him. "Rules are rules. We are prohibited from harming each others' wards and assets. Hidan, unless you want me to personally hunt down all of your assets as payback, I suggest you step away from the girl. And you Itachi, put her in line."

Ever since she entered the room, Shiori had felt like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. But now, with Hidan's scythe replaced by Itachi's kunai, its sharp edge drawing blood from her skin, she felt the space she was trapped in getting smaller. It suffocated her. Every breath brought with it the shinobi's scent and rather than finding comfort in this, it terrified her. Gone was the young man she had spoken to a few nights ago, the man who made her feel safe in a place that was weighed so heavily with death. The one holding her now was a ruthless killer intent on finishing the mission.

"I'll do anything," she whispered shakily, "Anything else except this. I can't-"

"Be very careful with what you say next, Shiori-san," he interjected calmly. His warm breath against her ear made her shudder. "If you say that you are not capable of doing this job then it's proof that you're not as efficient as we want you to be. You won't be of any use to me anymore. I would have no good reason to keep you around. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

This was the most that she had heard Itachi talk and it had felt like a sledgehammer to the gut. She had been foolish enough to believe, even if she didn't admit it out loud, that Itachi kept her safe because he cared about her, that maybe he saw her as an ally.

'Apparently not,' she thought to herself. To him, she was a tool, disposable once she had lost her usefulness.

With frayed nerves and a heavy heart, she let her survival instincts kick in. She took a few steps forward and numbly kissed the unconscious man in front of her.

* * *

She didn't wake up until the second night. Even then she had felt so disorientated that she had a hard time sitting up on her bed. It was as if somebody had entered her mind and had wrecked havoc at her memories. The sequence of the events which had occurred for the past few weeks were so jumbled that she couldn't remember how she ended up in her room in the first place. With a pained sigh, she forced herself to think.

She remembered explosions but she couldn't remember being scared by them. Fudo had joked about those things. They were laughing, yes. They were in the moss garden.

'When did Itachi get in the picture?' she thought. She reached up to scratch her neck, wincing when she realized that she had accidentally picked on a scab. Alarmed, she ran her fingertips along the small horizontal cut just above the hollow of her throat.

"Itachi did this," she murmured to herself, more as a matter of fact than as an accusation. "But why?"

The answer came and hit her with the force of a speeding freight train.

She remembered the assignment with Kakuzu and Hidan, how every cell in her body screamed at her not to do it. But she did. Kami forgive her, she did. And just like that, Fu's life was at the palm of her bound hands, ready for the taking.

She didn't even hear the door opening, didn't notice she wasn't alone in the room anymore until his silhouette loomed above her. A pair of glowing Sharingan looked down on her, bringing forth another surge of memories.

She had put up a fight. It had been a tearful, pathetic, and short-lived fight but considering it was against the Uchiha prodigy, it took all of her courage to hold her ground. She had partially made up her mind then that she'd rather die than spill the intel she had gathered from the guardian shinobi.

His name was Minato. She loved it. It suited him.

If she died with Minato that night then she decided she was fine with it. At least she wouldn't have to meet Jashin by herself.

Minato died alone. Hidan didn't even offer him to his God and merely slit the defenseless man's throat out of pent up spite.

Itachi had her by her own throat and had slammed her against the wall, a thin layer of fabric separating his skin from hers. While his left hand effortlessly held her on a chokehold, his right hand had her left arm pinned above her head. Her right arm was caught between the two of them, reminding her of their proximity, of his intrusiveness. Just when her head had stopped spinning from the impact, the tomoe in Itachi's eyes began to spin lazily around his pupils.

"Itachi, no," she rasped. "Don't do this."

"Tell us what we need to know," he said in a low voice. Then he pressed his lips against her ear, close enough that echoes of his memories began ringing in her head. "Say it out loud."

Just like that, her body was no longer hers. Her lips moved on its own accord even as her inner self screamed at her to shut up. With Itachi's chokehold loosened, she had shouted that Fu was headed to Konohagakure to take part in the Chunin Selection Exams, the same exams which will be taken by the jinchuriki of the nine-tails. She had recited the names of the other shinobi who were disguising themselves as Takigakure genins. In truth these were jonins who were tasked to be Fu's undercover bodyguards. She exposed their specialties, strengths and weaknesses. She even blurted out the Minshukus they had planned on staying during their journey. And when she had said all that they had needed to hear, Itachi had flung her on an adjacent wall, causing her to hit her head and pass out.

* * *

Admittedly he had been angry at her. Shiori had always been sensible despite being blunt and stubborn. Hence he had not expected her to throw her life away for the sake of a stranger, even if the said stranger had been an innocent girl. Her little stunt nearly cost her her life. It left Itachi with no choice but to coerce the intel out of her, all the while displaying cruelty meant for the watchful sadistic eyes of Kakuzu and Hidan. He felt a bitter pang at the thought that Shiori was going to be livid at him when she came around but he pushed the unpleasant sensation down and ignored it.

'She is a tool. What she thinks of you is irrelevant,' he told himself. It wasn't for the first time that he did it.

His well-kept fear had been confirmed and more. When he came to her room that night, not only was she angry at him, she was also disgusted. Gone was the fear that consumed her every time she encountered the Sharingan. In its place was a blind rage that made her gray eyes shine dangerously.

He didn't move as she crawled her way towards him. He stood in place as she shakily stood up on her feet. He looked numbly as she lifted her left palm above her head before bringing it down forcefully against his cheek. He didn't flinch at the contact. He deserved that one anyway.

She lunged at him again, this time aiming for his torso. Armed with a pair of leather gloves, he had caught both of her hands rendering them useless. She proceeded to kick at his shins.

"Bastard!" She kept on screaming. "You bastard! I hate you!"

He twisted her wrists further, causing her to cry out in pain. The pain distracted her enough to allow him to sweep her off her feet with a quick maneuver of his leg. Shiori cried as they both landed on her futon. His full weight on her hips had successfully pinned her down and his hands kept their firm grip on her wrists. Once again in a blink of an eye, he had defeated her.

"Get off me!" she screamed. "Goddamit Itachi! Why did you make me do it! Why?"

He didn't let her go even as her screams became sniffles. And then she was crying in front of him. Hot tears rolled down her temples and soaked into her hair.

"Damn you. She is fourteen years old, no older then Sasuke. Why would you kill her?" The question was an exhausted whisper, a dirty little secret she was incapable of preventing.

"We are going to kill her with or without your help. That cannot be avoided. What we didn't plan on was killing you. We've already caused enough deaths. We don't need another unnecessary one."

"I don't care."

Itachi gritted his teeth. He was determined to make her understand.

"It's true that we had paid Shimogakure to obtain you but it's a cost we have more than made up for a long time ago. Killing may be business for us but I know of more than one person in this place who would gladly kill you for free."

"Let them!" she shouted, lips quivering from more unshed tears. "Ask them to put a stop in this misery. I don't care."

Shiori meant it this time. It was no longer something she just said to make a point. With every person she helped them hunt down, the guilt she carried in her chest grew bigger. She was afraid that the day will come when it will grow big enough to choke her.

"I'm not like you," she continued, meeting his red-eyed gaze. "I'm not a shinobi. Killing people is and will always be wrong for me. I can't take this anymore Itachi-san. I hate what I've become because of you."

Itachi's face came closer and closer, startling her enough to curb her sobs. He was pressed so close against her she could feel his even breathing against her fluttering heartbeat. She could see the details of his long lashes. He continued to come closer, close enough that if he didn't tilt his head to the right, their noses would have ended up brushing against each other. Finally when there was only an inch of space between their lips, Itachi spoke.

"You're nothing but a tool, Shiori-san. What you think or feel doesn't matter to me. I decide if and when you're no longer useful to the organization."

Before his heart skipped a beat and the lump in his throat forced him to swallow, giving away the fact that he wasn't being as truthful as he wanted her to believe, he pushed himself up to his feet and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him with a barely audible click.

* * *

Shiori sobbed her heart out that night. The feeling of being under a full-blown genjutsu haunted her, all the more because it was Itachi who had done it to her. She had wanted to scold herself for being so gullible, for even considering the Uchiha as her savior. In the end, it wasn't about keeping her safe. It was about intel. He would probably chop her into pieces for right information at the right price. Itachi was a master of deception. For someone who had seen the workings of his mind she ought to have known better.

Some time in the depth of the night, the dark-haired shinobi decided to check on her. He managed to go as far as outside her door with one fist in the air poised to knock on it. The pacifist in him wanted to make sure she was okay while the tactician seethed for leaving a problem unsolved. These were the things he told himself because these were the only reasons he could come up with which explained his unusual sleeplessness.

He had wanted to apologize, to say that he didn't mean half the things he had said but logic kicked in before his knuckles came in contact with the wood. How could he fix her when the very thought of him was what caused her to break? Accepting what he thought was failure on his part, he walked away and left Shiori to cry it out.

He never did sleep that night. The whole time all he could think about was the uneasy weight on this stomach and the illogical thought that the only thing that could make it go away was to make sure that Shiori was okay. It was illogical because she didn't matter that much. Well, she wasn't supposed to anyway.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I'm aware that Minato is the Yondaime's first name but I think it's really nice so I recycled it. Anyways, multiple chapters later and I still have no idea how this piece is being taken. It could be that a) this fandom churns out so many fics per hour that my fic gets lost in the queue an hour after it's posted, or b) Naruto fans aren't big on OCs (and I get it) or c) this ain't the majority's cuppa tea. Anyway, if you're reading this you know what I want you to do. Hit review and review. See ya.


	8. The Task at Hand

Once again, Shiori had secluded herself in her room. The only other person she would see was Fudo who brought in her meals and even then she was too far gone inside her head to talk to him. A couple of days later, Kisame barged in and greeted her with a gruff "Hey".

"Hm?"

"Wipe that mopey look on your face and take a shower. You look like you could use one. Be ready in a hour, Shio-chan."

She was all set earlier than that and met the blue-skinned swordsman at the entrance of the headquarters. It was situated at the bottom of the two-hundred-step staircase on the northern part of what had once been the monks' temple. Anticipating a long trip towards another reading mission, she had brought with her her travelling knapsack.

"Oh good. You're early for once," Kisame said, grinning at the dark-haired girl. Her only reply was another forlorn look. With a sigh, he signaled at her to start moving.

"Right. Just in case you're wondering, we'll be meeting with Sasori-san and Deidara-san in Yugakure. You'll get the details of your task once we get there."

"Just us?" As far as she knew, the Akatsuki always worked in tandems.

"It's not far from here so I should be back before noon time," he replied. There was a long pause before he added, "I'll tell Itachi-san you missed him though."

"I don't." He could drop dead for all she cared.

"Hey." Kisame kept looking at her until she met his gaze. "I heard about your little tantrum. It probably wouldn't look like it for you but he saved your life that day. If he hadn't been there we wouldn't be talking right now. Men like Hidan do not need much provocation to kill someone."

Shiori remained quiet and thought about what he said. It was true that the Uchiha prodigy was the reason she was still alive but she had learned not to assume that he did it for her sake. Itachi's final words to her still rang clear in her mind.

 _"I decide if and when you're no longer useful to the organization."_

The way she saw it, he was saving her for a fate much worse than instant death. She was certain that wasn't something to be thankful about.

* * *

Deidara and Sasori barely gave her a second glance after Kisame delivered her to their doorstep. As soon as the swordsman left, Deidara went back to his clay sculpture while Sasori continued fiddling with the limb of his puppet. Shiori was unsure of what to do and awkwardly stood on her spot for a couple of minutes.

"Don't just stand there. We have tea and sake in the kitchen. Help yourself," Sasori drawled. His eyes never left the task in front of him.

"Sake?" she repeated, unsure if she heard it right.

Deidara grinned at her. "Consider it my treat for giving hell to that bastard Itachi, hn."

Shiori lifted an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little too young to purchase sake? Legally?"

Sasori mentioned once that the blonde bomber was the youngest member of the Akatsuki. Itachi had just turned eighteen, which meant that he couldn't be older than that.

"Legally. What does that even mean?" Deidara and Sasori exchanged pointed looks before chuckling among themselves. It made her feel silly for asking the question. Buying alcohol was probably the least illegal thing the young missing-nin did that week.

Despite their generous offer, Shiori declined both and instead, stayed in one of the empty rooms reserved for assets like her. The bright, sunny weather and the scent of sulphur wafting off of the many hot springs in the area did little to help with her low mood. Nothing she could think of doing felt worth it. Her life had become a vicious cycle of temporary normalcy and brutal acts of terrorism. She knew it was an irrational thought but she had become somewhat afraid of feeling happy. It seemed like every time she did, even for a little while, life would throw her a curveball that was so bad it knocked the breath out of her.

"When did I become so pathetic?" she murmured to herself.

"I've always thought you're pathetic, Hn."

Shiori felt her heart jump to her throat and sat up in surprise. Deidara was standing by the door, leaning casually against its frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Cute but pathetic," he added, taking in the alarmed look on her face.

"Deidara-san. I didn't hear you knock."

The blonde shrugged. "I didn't. The door was already opened."

Taking this as her cue to go, Shiori pulled herself out of her lumpy futon. "Alright. Where to?"

* * *

Deidara and Sasori discussed the new assignment with her over a bottle of sake. It sounded relatively simple compared to the previous ones she had been involved with. They were to retrieve an heirloom dagger owned by one of the royal families of Ishigakure, the Village Hidden in Stones.

Sasori went further into their target's details. "Probably the only person in the world who knows its current location is the one who stole it. Jiro Moto, the kleptomaniac ruffian from the higher echelons of Hot Water."

"Geez. If he's already rich then why would he steal an ancient dagger?" Shiori wondered. She waved her hand to refuse the fourth sake shot Deidara had offered to her.

"Just 'cause he can. For the thrill of it. Maybe the rumors are true and he really is a klepto. Hn! Who knows?" Deidara replied, downing the shot that Shiori refused.

Sasori continued, "He's extremely wealthy and extremely paranoid, with a good reason to be. Shinobi from many hidden villages are after him because of his penchant for taking things that aren't his. As such, he's frequently holed up in his fortress of a mansion protected by at least three-hundred men on a daily basis. An unidentified number of them are skilled at ninjutsu."

"Okay, I get it," Shiori commented. "The usual route of abduct and kiss won't work this time."

"No but not for the reason that you think," the puppeteer replied, tilting his head back for a shot of sake.

"Three hundred men is nothing, Hn!" Deidara scoffed. "Even with them in the picture, I have my bombs and my man Sasori has his puppets. Getting to him is not a problem, Hn."

"Then what is?"

Sasori replied, "Moto has close ties with the daimyo and his royal advisers. And they are some of Akatsuki's highest-paying customers so maintaining our business relations with them is a must. Special orders. In short, Moto must remain alive and oblivious to the fact that we have made a move against him."

Deidara was bouncing on his seat like a child. His face was starting to turn red from the alcohol. "He's getting to the good part."

Even Shiori was curious. "Which is?"

"Every fortnight he hosts a party in his place for the richest bastards in this country. For these occasions, he always rents all of the women from a nearby brothel for the entire night. That, Shio-chan, is where you come in."

Gray eyes narrowed at the red-headed shinobi. "You want me to dress up as a whore, sneak in and kiss him."

Deidara banged his fists on the table. "Ding ding ding ding! Correct!" he exclaimed.

"One of us will be with you to act as your main customer," Sasori added, giving the younger shinobi a slightly disgusted look. "And also to make sure that we keep this one away from the alcohol for the duration of the mission."

Shiori's gaze went back and forth between Deidara and Sasori, unable to shake off the disbelief of what she just heard.

"I guess there's some truth about what they say. The artsy ones are often insane."

Deidara slammed his shotglass on the table. "Oi. Don't act like you have a choice in this. I'll drag you in that mansion by the hair if I have to, Hn!"

Sasori rolled his eyes in annoyance. "For crying out loud."

"Whoa, _relax_." Shiori held her hands up to calm the drunk teenager down. "No need to resort to that."

"So you agree with us, hn?" The blonde slurred, a silly grin plastered on his face. "The plan...is ingenious."

Shiori smiled for the first time in days. "It will be once I get my makeup and yukata ready."

With that, she took a full shotglass from the table and downed its contents in one long gulp.

* * *

Kisame was more than annoyed at him. Itachi could tell. The blue giant had flat out refused when Sasori asked them to go through the store rooms and deliver two yukatas to their headquarters in Yugakure for a mission.

"I didn't join the Akatsuki to be some bastard's lackey," he had spat out with indignation. And he had expected Itachi to agree with him. A string of profanities erupted from his lips when the younger shinobi did as he was told and rummaged through the dusty boxes of old supplies. A few hours and many kilometers later, Kisame was still incensed.

Itachi sighed. "It's two yukatas," he said for the umpteenth time. "It's not heavy at all and the Yugakure headquarters is right on the way to the Land of Fire." It was the location for their next mission.

"That's not the point," Kisame shot back. "You shouldn't let other members boss us around, even if its the old geezer Sasori." Something came up to him and it was like a lightbulb lit up above his head. "Teenagers. If you wanted to see Shio-chan, all you had to do was ask."

Itachi gave him a lazy sideway glance and smirked. "Hn." He knew better than to react to that.

Kisame was only joking. And both of them knew that was all there was to it. But he was right about one thing. He wanted to speak with her. Things between them had been ugly during their last encounter, with him having to physically restrain her. And while Fudo had been giving him updates on his ward, he wanted to see her personally and deal with the rift between the two of them once and for all. He was hoping the simple retrieval assignment with Deidara and Sasori would help. After the Fu fiasco, he had been relieved when he found out that the next task for his sullen ward only involved a missing object. Nothing in the contract read or implied assassinations. Shiori could use the break.

That relief was short-lived.

When they reached the headquarters, he had made the mistake of asking what the yukatas were for. Sasori replied with a rather detailed report of their plan. Itachi's ears rang loudly. He bristled on the spot.

Shiori infiltrating a target's home? And dressed as a harlot while at it? No.

Itachi breathed out of his mouth and counted to three before speaking. "That's too dangerous. She isn't _trained_ for infiltration. She wouldn't know what to do."

"Sure she does," Deidara replied with an angry glare. "We've agreed on a plan. We've gone through it many times. She's ready."

"That's _my_ ward you're putting in danger, my inexperienced ward who couldn't even hold a kunai properly. I won't let her proceed with it."

"For fuck's sake, Uchiha!" Deidara exclaimed, hopping off the windowsill he was perched on. "You really think you're the only one smart enough to come up with a plan? Well screw you, hn! This is an authorized mission. _Every_ one is obliged to participate in an authorized mission, hn."

By the time Deidara had finished with his rant, him and Itachi were standing nose to nose. Both had their fists curled up, ready for a fight. Itachi's face, however, remained relaxed and stoic. He turned to Sasori who was the more composed shinobi of the two.

"There has to be another way." It took a bit of effort to mask the desperation in his voice. Something about the mission didn't sit well with him. And if he couldn't guarantee its success, the last thing he wanted was for Shiori to be caught in the midst of it all when it fell apart.

"Deidara that's enough," Sasori said in a clipped voice before turning to Itachi. "There are other ways, Itachi-san. But this plan we're pursuing is the most cost-effective one. Pain-sama had specific orders to keep good relations with our customers. The way I see it, if things do head south, it's better that we lose your asset. We can always find someone to replace her. High-paying patrons are harder to come by."

Itachi matched Sasori's steady gaze with his own. There was a long pause between the two of them. And when the former was sure that the latter had no suspicions towards him, he replied, "Understood. I agree."

His tongue felt heavy from the lie.

* * *

When Shiori had agreed with the plan, she had treated it as a joke. She may be able to pass as a prostitute but the wasn't sure if she could convince them she was a high class one. Trauma had made her look horrendous, with uneven skintone and dark circles under her eyes. The blackeye she received from being thrown against the wall by Itachi was fading but it was still visible. If she couldn't get her hands on the right makeup product, she might as well give up.

Then there was the issue of what to wear. Never had she thought that she would encounter the need for a formal attire during the time she had spent in captivity with the Akatsuki. Deidara and Sasori both volunteered to pick a yukata for her in the local shop. Them being men, her expectations were severely low. Imagine her surprise when the two came back with not only more makeup than she knew what to do with but also with the most beautiful yukata she had laid her eyes on.

"We're artists, Shio-chan," Deidara huffed when he saw the look of surprise on her face. "Give us some credit."

And she did. The garment they had picked for her was made of white silk with trimmings the shape and color of the cherry blossoms in Shimogakure. The entire yukata was also dotted with patterns of the delicate flower, more spread apart at the top and gradually becoming denser the lower they were situated in the fabric. Its hem was flooded with the blossoms. Every fluid movement of the fabric caused the flowers to ripple, reminding her of Shimo's Yozakura River in spring when it turned pink from all the cherry blossoms that fell on it.

Although the party was two nights away, the little girl in her couldn't wait to play dress up. She fixed her long hair up in a bun and secured it with a pair of bejeweled hairsticks. Then she proceeded to try on her classy outfit. It took her a few tries to get the obi done right. The second that she did had been a proud moment. Even without an audience, she twirled in place the way her bestfriend Miyako did every time she was trying to show off a new dress. Her little performance was cut off by a knock on the door. Shiori reckoned it was Deidara getting back at her to say "I told you so". Grinning from ear to ear, she hopped towards the door.

"I concede Deidara-san. You're a genius-"

The person on the other side of the door wasn't Deidara. And he most definitely wasn't blonde.

Itachi had been absentmindedly staring at the end of the hallway with his hands shoved in his pockets when the door opened, revealing Shiori in a way he hadn't seen her before. He couldn't help but do a double take. For a moment, all they could do was stare at each other.

"I-Itachi-san," she stammered, eyes dulling down as she mentally built a wall around herself. The shinobi's gaze lingered on the bruise on her right eye before he spoke up.

"May I come in?"

She stepped aside to let him pass but left the door wide open. Being in the same room with him suddenly made her feel extremely claustrophobic.

He stood at the center of the room. "Sasori told me about the plan to get to Jiro Moto." He turned to her direction and lifted his gaze towards her. "I guess what they said was true. You agreed to go in."

Shiori nodded in response. "I'll be going with Sasori-san. Deidara-san will stay outside as lookout."

"Hn. Moto is an unpredictable man. He prefers to hit first and ask questions later. Be careful of him."

She bowed. "Yes."

"And don't be caught in a room with him alone. Always stand by a window. Lure him there so Deidara can keep an eye on you. Those hairsticks have more use than what their name suggests. If you think you're in danger, you run. Fast."

"Understood."

She had kept her eyes trained on her feet until she felt him step closer in front of her. She caught a whiff of his familiar scent sending her stomach into a frenzy. Very slowly, she looked up until her gaze reached his collarbone. She felt herself breaking into a cold sweat. Just the act of him stepping closer to her had sent her defenses crumbling down and it terrified her. After what happened on her last assignment, the last thing she wanted to be in front of Uchiha Itachi was vulnerable. No one had been more capable of hurting her so much by doing so little.

"Shiori-san. Look at me."

So she did. And rather than the look of cold indifference she had seen him wear the last time they talked, she thought she could see something else there. Doubt. Apprehension. Maybe even concern. His eyebrows were furrowed with it. It was then when she realized that _that boy_ was back, the boy who cracked jokes, the boy who offered to walk her to her room, the boy she very nearly found herself falling for only a week ago.

The boy who disappeared when they were in front of other people.

"Do you think you can handle it?" he asked.

'Say no,' he urged her in his mind. 'Tell me you can't do it.' He needed a good reason to get her out of this mess and it needed to come from her.

Shiori's hands curled into fists and she met his gaze with a cold glare of her own.

"Tools don't think, Itachi-san. They act however their owners wield them."

His eyebrows smoothed out. Itachi's face went blank. Then a wicked half-smile graced his handsome features.

"That's right. You're learning."

The two stared each other down before Itachi decided that it was time to go. He bowed at her in farewell and made his way out of the door. He was halfway out when he paused. "I'll see you in a few days?"

It sounded more like a question than an instruction. Shiori concluded that he must have been referring to the report she had to do after the assignment.

"I'll tell you everything then."

"You better."

She didn't have time to decipher what he meant. In a blink of an eye, he rounded into the corner and disappeared.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** First off, thank you very much for the reviews for the previous chapters. You guys have no idea what your revs mean to us writers. All the more because you guys are being more vocal about how you like it and why. We don't just read your thoughts to boost our ego (though it certainly does the trick), we also do it to make our pieces better so the more input from you the more clued-in we are. Hope you like this one as well. And please, don't stop reviewing. Keep them coming. I'll try to reply as much as possible. See ya.


	9. Dispensable

Getting in had been easy. None of the guards questioned him when Sasori led a young lady by her satin-gloved hand into the gates. Outside of his hideous puppet, Hiruko, the puppeteer looked nobler than many of the highborns of Hot Water. With his looks and Shiori's ability to talk her way into the inner circle, the duo managed to get near the surprisingly-attractive Jiro Moto within an hour.

Gathering intel had been easier. If there was one thing Jiro craved above all else it was attention. He wanted all eyes on him. And Shiori knew just how to stand out. Rather than wait in the queue of a dozen odd girls for her turn at kissing the spiky-haired troublemaker, she hopped on a nearby table and began feeding Sasori with grapes.

"The queue is that way and I'm not hungry," Sasori chirped, not wanting to break the "rabid lovers" act. He had pursed his lips together when she offered him another piece. In reply, Shiori laughed like he had just told her the funniest joke of all time and fumbled with a tuft of hair on the nape of his neck.

"My way is faster," she whispered. "So. Play. Along." She paused in between forcing the juicy fruit in his mouth, ending the flirty act by licking her gloved fingers one by one.

A sideway glance from the two of them was all they needed to do to confirm that the plan had worked. Jiro, perhaps threatened by the competition he saw in Sasori, pushed himself off his cushioned seat and brushed off the women who were draped over him. He sauntered over to the pair.

"Good to know you're enjoying yourself," he said to Sasori before tugging at the sleeve of Shiori's yukata. "But I _paid_ for you. You owe me a good time too, don't you sweetheart?"

Without another word and without even bothering to move away from Sasori, Jiro proceeded to smash his lips against Shiori's, kissing her torridly right then and there. By the time he let her go, her head was spinning from the lack of oxygen and from all the information she had gathered about him. Her entire head and neck hurt. She had paid for the nearly effortless acquisition of intel with an angry-looking bruise on the front of her neck. She thought bitterly that Deidara would never let her live with it without at least a few weeks' worth of teasing.

It was during their planned time of exit when things went sour. Sasori, in an attempt to keep his disguise, was dragged on one corner of the mansion. Shiori was herded into a room on the third floor along with the other girls from the brothel. Though the plan had been to stay in place if the redheaded shinobi wasn't around, seeing the other women in various states of undress clued her in on what was to come. She excused herself for a toilet break to avoid the pending orgy.

"Where on earth are those stairs?" Shiori mumbled to herself, taking every right turn that she could. The mansion of the Motos was a vast stone building with dozens of rooms. Outside of the areas which were used to hold guests, it also housed a complex labyrinth of hallways. It vaguely reminded her of the headquarters on the outskirts of Yugakure, the place she had mostly stayed in for the past couple of months. And though the thought of returning there filled her with dread, she realized that she would rather get lost in that place rather than the maze she was stuck in at that very moment. At least there, she knew what kind of monsters were lurking in the shadows.

A deep husky voice pulled her out of her musings.

"Going somewhere?"

Shiori stopped on her tracks and turned to her right. The door beside her was wide open and it led to a massive library. Its walls were covered with bookshelves from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. And right by the door, toying with a waist-high globe and motioning at her to come closer was none other than Jiro Moto. His cobalt blue eyes never left her as she timidly entered into the room.

"Jiro-sama," she greeted with a small bow. "What a surprise."

With a feline grace as beautiful and as troublesome as a certain Uchiha, Jiro sauntered over to her and whispered close to her ear. "I could say the same thing to you." He smiled slyly and walked towards the door, closing it with a loud click. Shiori's pulse sped up, remembering the words of warning given to her by the same troublesome Uchiha she was thinking about just moments ago.

 _Don't be caught in a room with him alone._

"Everyone's waiting for you next door, Jiro sama. Shall we go?" she suggested, gently pulling at the sleeve of his yukata.

Shiori let out a small squeak when he grabbed her arm. Jiro pushed her backwards until she felt her backside hit the edge of a study table.

"I don't think I've seen you before," he drawled. Her tilted her chin upwards, forcing her to meet his icy gaze. The contact clued her in on what he had done to some of the women merely hours ago. The hair on her arms stood on end with she realized that she was trapped in a room with a maniac.

"That's because I'm new. I recently moved here from Shimo. My patron, Hiruko, asked if I could keep him company for this party. I'm assuming you remember him?" By now she was so scared that forcing her lips into a smile was painful.

"Should I?" he raised his eyebrow, clearly irritated.

Shiori stalled by doing what she did best. She talked. "Well, Hiruko-san told me he has been to a few of your parties before. I've heard many wonderful things of such events-"

"I guess he doesn't matter as much as he lets you think. But you, young lady, matters very much this very moment."

She froze in terror when Jiro lifted her by her bum and dropped her on the study table. He pushed against her so that both of their upper bodies were lying on its wooden surface. His left hand crept up to her thigh.

"I've always wondered how you easterners are like all hot and bothered."

As Jiro dove down to ravage her neck, Shiori found herself in limbo. She struggled to get a grip on reality while she drowned in his memories. Her mind saw the inside of his head while her watery eyes only saw the lattice window on her left. She pushed herself to move. If Deidara couldn't see her in time then Jiro was sure to have his way with her. And that was _never_ part of the darn plan.

Despite the well-muscled man hovering above her, she shimmied to her left inch-by-inch, desperate to lift at least a limb by the window. She was praying their watcher was actually watching. She growled inwardly when he exposed both of her legs to the cool evening air.

"No-!"

Both of them froze when the door burst open, Jiro from being startled, Shiori from the relief of having his memories taken away from her.

"There you are, Jiro-sama!" A woman exclaimed. Shiori sat up to get a better look at her and recognized her as one of the prostitutes from the brothel. Her blonde hair had become undone and fell on loose curls down her back. Her satin robe shone against the moonlight. Upon seeing their positions on the table, she came over to them and made a disapproving sound.

"Tsk. This whole time we've been waiting for you and you're here fornicating with this social-climbing _outsider._ That's just rude."

Jiro's nostrils flared. He pushed himself away from Shiori and stomped his way towards the woman.

"Don't forget who you're talking to, stupid who-"

Shiori screamed as the blonde buried a knife into Jiro Moto's belly. With a manical grin, she pulled the weapon out of his gut and stabbed him repeatedly until the front of her robes grew dark with blood.

There was the heavy thud of the thug's body hitting the floor and then there was deafening silence. Shiori and the woman stared at each other for the longest time. It was the latter who broke the spell with an annoyed sigh.

"Did this spoiled bastard really think he can waltz in to Ishi, take something that isn't his, and get away with it? Was he really that stupid? By the way thanks for your help. You made my task a lot less complicated. Really, I did _not_ want to fuck the guy."

It was when she pulled down one of her sleeves to wipe the blood off her knife that Shiori noticed it, wrapped around her forearm and glinting against the moon's faint glow. A hitai-ate. The woman was a kunoichi.

 _If you think you're in danger, you run. Fast._

Her hand was already at the door frame when the kunoichi kicked the door shut. The eighteen-year old screamed as pain shot up from her crushed fingers. She kicked helplessly as the stronger woman dragged her by the collar of her yukata.

"Please don't hurt me!" she cried. "I won't say anything I swear. Please!"

The kunoichi's grip shifted from her yukata to her hair, forcefully pulling her head back to expose her neck.

"Sorry imouto-chan. But in these lands, a whore's promise holds as much value as dirt."

Shiori gasped in fear as she watched her raise the knife over her head.

'Not today,' she thought. 'Not like this.'

Remembering Itachi's words from a few days ago, she grabbed on to one of her hairsticks and buried it into her attacker's wrist. There was a sickening crunch as the sharp metal dug through skin, muscles and bones. The kunoichi didn't even cry out in pain. She flicked her knife against a wall, picked Shiori up with her uninjured hand and flung the younger girl against the window, breaking the pane off the window sill. Gray eyes grew round as she watched the wooden and glass parts shatter from the fifty-foot drop. A shiver ran down her back as the female nin spoke in a low voice.

"Shame. I wanted it to be quick for you. Guess we'll all get to see how pretty you remain after they scrape you off the ground."

There was a sharp shove on her shoulders. She felt herself flip over and in a blink of an eye, she was airborne. She was too stunned to scream. All she could think of was the ground that was coming to meet her at a very lethal speed.

"Gotcha!"

Someone grabbed her from midair and they both landed safely on a patch of dewy grass hidden behind a large bush.

"Stand up!" Deidara's voice echoed in her head. Her legs were too weak to obey and the rest of her fell on the ground in a quivering heap. The best she could do was cradle her right hand as its fingers started to throb and turn blue.

Deidara stepped in front of her. His gaze shifted back and forth between Shiori and the window.

"What the...did that chick just _throw_ you out of the window? Shio-chan?" he asked wearily, noting the green hue of her face.

She replied by throwing up in front of him. Deidara stared at the puddle of sick by his feet.

"Pathetic and disgusting, hn."

They heard the back door burst open. Sasori rounded the corner and appeared in front of them. Behind him, they could hear the terrified screams of Jiro's guests. Someone had found his body.

"I thought you said no killing!" Deidara exclaimed as he got up to his feet.

"It wasn't me," Sasori replied walking over to his team. "Suna nins have taken matters into their own hands. Mask your chakra, Deidara. They have a sensor type with them. We need to get out of here before they see us."

"You think any of them recognized you?" Deidara asked the former Sunagakure shinobi as he helped Shiori to her feet.

"I'm not sticking around to find out."

* * *

Even without using their chakra, Sasori and Deidara were fast runners. Shiori struggled to keep up with them. She suspected the two were slowing down for her. They could very much leave her behind if they wanted to.

Sasori only deemed it safe to stop once they were inside the forest situated a few kilometers away from the Mori mansion. Deidara held on to a tree as he caught his breath. Shiori was doubled over, gasping.

"I still don't get it. Why does Suna have beef with Jiro, Hn?"

"It's a long story," Sasori replied. "Turns out the dagger once belonged to Sunagakure. Reto, the First Kazekage, gave it as a gift to one of his loyal shinobi guardians. Generations later, the descendants of that guardian revolted against Suna and joined the misfits which now formed Ishigakure. Seeing as Suna is so eager to have it back, it must be worth more than we were led to think."

"Do you think we ought to ask Kakuzu for a raise?" Deidara joked.

Shiori straightened up, a retort at the ready, when she noticed Sasori and Deidara stiffened visibly. The two jumped up to a nearby tree leaving her on the ground by herself as a strong gust of wind from behind her forced her to stagger forward. Its force was so strong it undid the tight bun of her hairdo.

When she looked up, a blade had appeared half-buried into the trunk of the tree in front of her. It glowed brightly in the evening, as though the blade itself was encased in another blade made by the glowing entity.

Shiori noticed something trickle down her legs. When she looked down on her yukata, she could see a splash of dark red blossoming from the middle of her abdomen. It drowned the pastels of her dress. She put her hand over it, wincing at its warmth, but the pressure did nothing to stop it from getting bigger. It continued to spread all the way up to her chest and that was when she smelled it. It was blood, her own blood pouring out of her. She looked up again at the blade on the tree and realization hit her like a fist to the jaw.

The blade had gone _through_ her.

She wanted to call out to Sasori and Deidara, to scream for help. When she opened her mouth, only wet, gurgling sounds escaped from her. She gagged at the metallic taste on her tongue and felt warm liquid dribbling out of her lips. One step forward caused her to go lightheaded. All of her strength seemed to have leaked out of her. She didn't remember passing out and only realized this when the sound of a bomb going off startled her awake. When she pried her eyes open, she could see Deidara looking down at her. His words sounded echoey and garbled, like he was speaking at the other end of a large room.

"What?"

"If you sleep, you die!" he screamed amidst the roar of a fire jutsu. Before she could ask him what he meant, he lifted two fingers in front of his eyes and shouted.

"Katsu!"

* * *

Many kilometers away in a quiet dining room, two men were enjoying their evening tea when a loud rumble caused them to pause. That rumble was quickly followed by a tremor big enough to cause their teacups to rattle.

Itachi looked outside the window, the tomoe in his eyes standing out against his red irises.

Kisame held on to his cup to stop his drink from spilling.

"Tell me if I'm wrong but that sounded a lot like Deidara to me."

"It was," Itachi replied curtly. With the help of the Sharingan, he could see the bomber's Earth nature chakra signature in the particles hovering in the air outside. It no longer came as a surprise to him when his mind zeroed in on one particular person. His stomach churned uncomfortably.

"Tsk. That can't be good," Kisame murmured. "You think Shio-can survived that? It would be a pain to have to get another ward."

Itachi didn't reply to that, though silently, he was asking the same question himself.

He had a feeling they didn't have to wait for too long to find out.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Honestly I was hesitant to post this chapter for the most shallow of reasons: Not much Itachi. Itachi is elusive enough as he is and even when he is in a lot of a chapter, he often fades in the background in comparison to the louder characters (ie Kisame, Deidara, Shiori). And it's the 9th chapter so I was thinking he should at least play a moderate-sized role in this. Still, I have no idea how to tell the story properly without this chapter so I begrudgingly posted it. Hope you like it. Lemme know your thoughts. It would be awesome if you review. See ya.


	10. Collateral Damage

"We need help here!"

Shiori was half dead by the time Deidara burst into the headquarters with her in his arms. The blonde had sworn that the girl had been rabid during their escape at the back of his clay bird. She had been kicking, screaming and bleeding everywhere. And then just as they reached the entrance of the old monk temple, it was like a switch had been flipped off. She went limp and refused to wake up. The pair quickly settled her into one of the smaller rooms in preparation for a much-needed patching up.

From what Itachi gathered from Sasori, he could tell that Shiori was in a critical state. She had lost too much blood and her body was shutting down.

"A chakra blade infused with wind-natured chakra right through the guts. She's lucky it didn't slice her in half."

Something about Sasori's comment rubbed him the wrong way and it took a lot of his self-control to maintain his composure. Itachi settled with a sideway glare at the redhead.

"Sorry about the collateral damage, Itachi-san. I'll make sure Kakuzu will give you a better replacement."

"I don't like being wasteful." He has had enough. He knelt beside the futon Shiori was on and pressed both of his hands on her wounded abdomen. The fabric of her dress felt stiff from being saturated with blood. Its signature metallic scent invaded his nostrils. "Tell Sora-san to come here this instant." He turned to Fudo who bowed and quickly dashed out of the room. "No one is dying on our side tonight."

As Fudo's footsteps disappeared into the distance, a tense silence fell in the room. Itachi was angry. Sasori and Deidara could tell. He had known that this disaster was going to happen. He had warned them and yet they had pushed through. While the young shinobi wasn't known for having a quick temper, they were all too familiar with the damage he could inflict without lifting a finger. It was enough to put the both of them on edge.

The Sharingan scanned Shiori's entire body and Itachi hissed at what he saw, or rather what he _couldn't_ see. The girl's chakra levels were severely depleted from bleeding out so badly. He didn't detect her chakra signature at the time the three of them entered the headquarters and he could barely detect it now with both of his hands on her. With every minute that passed it grew fainter still.

"-but I _did_ mask my chakra. That's why I didn't use any of my explosive clays earlier, hn."

"And I'm pretty sure I masked mine as well so I don't know how they managed to find us."

Itachi turned to the bickering pair, tuning in on what they had to say. Sasori recounted to him the events which led to the attack.

"Suna-nins infiltrated the mansion and managed to assassinate Jiro. We have enough evidence to conclude that they too were after the dagger. Also, they had at least two sensory types with them. Whoever they were, they were strong enough to pinpoint our chakras even after we concealed them."

Itachi narrowed his eyes at this. As a sensor type, he realized that something was off with Sasori's conclusion. Before he could voice this out, Fudo had returned accompanied by an aging woman with gray hair which was kept up in a bun. With slow, uneven footsteps, she made her way to the futon and kneeled on Shiori's side facing Itachi. The first thing she did was place two fingers on the side of her neck.

"Don't touch her Sora-san!" The four men in the room chorused.

The woman named Sora continued to check the young girl's pulse, unfazed. "Rinhas, much like the Uchihas and any other clan with bloodline limits, use their chakra to activate their abilities. Right now she barely has enough to stay alive as what you've probably noticed, Itachi."

The dark-haired boy nodded at her. "Can you still heal her?"

Sora paused, as though deliberating for an answer. Itachi was getting impatient. "She doesn't have much time. If we don't act quickly I'm...I'm going to lose my ward." He was losing her fast and for some reason, the thought of it felt more bothersome than he had anticipated it to be.

"I did tell you we'll get you a new one," Sasori replied from behind him.

Sora turned to the redhead and flicked her wrist at him. "You. Out of the room. Now. Same goes for you two," she said, turning to Deidara and Fudo.

"What about him?" Deidara asked, pointing at Itachi. Without waiting for a reply, Fudo placed an arm on the blonde's shoulder and ushered him out of the door before closing it behind him.

When she was sure that the three were out of earshot, Sora continued, "I'm an old woman now, 'tachi. And you are a boy with a very sick heart. I was saving my energy to prevent it from getting sicker. If I do this now, I doubt I'll be able to bounce back in less than a fortnight. Until I recover, you'll be on your own."

"Do it Sora-san. Please." He had known the consequence for asking the aging medic nin for help yet he had been fixed on a decision the minute he laid eyes on the dying girl.

Sora and Itachi looked down at Shiori. Her breathing had grown rapid and shallow and her skin had turned an ashen hue.

"Keep your hands where they are until I say otherwise," Sora instructed as her own palms hovered over Itachi's. A bright green light enveloped her hands as she proceeded to execute the Mystical Palm Technique. "I'll stay away from your chakra pathways so no need to worry about accidental chakra transfusion."

"You can use mine if you have to," Itachi replied. His red irises were trained on the rise and fall of Shiori's chest. Sora glanced up at him in surprise.

"It's alright," he added. "I'll be fine."

"Young man if you had been born an Uzumaki I would have believed you. But thank you anyway."

It wasn't like the Uchihas weren't known for their chakra. As one of the strongest shinobi clans in the world, they were known to have stronger chakra and larger reserves than an average shinobi. Unfortunately, Sora was aware that the second common clan trait was something Itachi did not possess. One of the reasons the genjutsu user was so adept with his chakra control was because he was aware that his reserve was very limited.

They stayed in the same position for minutes as Sora concentrated on fixing the major damages caused by the wound, starting from Shiori's back and working her way towards her abdomen. Halfway through the treatment, the young girl woke up with a start. Gray eyes glanced around wildly as she tried to figure out where she was.

"Keep still my child. We're patching you up."

She gave the older woman an confused look, who only replied with a nod towards her left side. Shiori turned her head and came face to face with Itachi's pokerface.

"Jomae Village," she rasped. "It's in a small vault in a bank...in Jomae Village."

A small smile spread on his lips. "Understood. Thank you for the intel. You did well."

"What happened?"

"You got caught by a chakra blade."

"That wasn't part of the plan."

"That goes without saying."

There was a long pause as the two continued to stare at each other. Despite struggling to keep her eyes open, Shiori's gaze never wavered. It was the first time she had done this without Itachi commanding her to do so and it set a strange flutter in the latter's stomach. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Try to relax yourself. Sora-san is one of the best medic nins I know. She can fix you in no time."

Shiori nodded and closed her eyes with a tired sigh. "It's not as bad this time."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"This isn't as scary as before. You're not as scary as before."

* * *

Despite the long hours spent on treating the ward, Sora had been highly successful. Come the break of dawn, all of Shiori's injuries had been dealt with. The bleeding had been staunched. Her gaping wound was patched up. Earlier they woke her up long enough for her to down a couple of soldier pills and its effects were showing. She looked less pasty and even sported a faint blush on her cheeks. Sora had just finished bandaging the girl's bruised hand. She gently placed it on her side before looking up at the other person on the room with her.

Itachi sat cross-legged facing her. His elbows rested on his knees and he slouched to rest his chin on his palms. Despite the dark circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep, he had remained alert and attentive the entire time, occasionally asking the medic nin if she needed help with anything. The only time he left his spot was right after Shiori first woke up. He had walked out of the room to relay the intel to Deidara and Sasori but came back inside not too long after. And as he sat there as still as a statue, Sora couldn't help but notice something peculiar about the Uchiha's behavior.

Since the boy was naturally stoic and aloof, the changes were minute, not quite that obvious for people who didn't know Itachi very well. But Sora did. Knowing him was a consolation of sorts that he had given to her for keeping her discovery of his congenital anomaly a secret. Years of treating the young man had made her familiar with how he normally acted. At that moment, despite him barely doing anything, Sora could tell that he wasn't being his usual self.

"She's going to make it. Don't worry about her. Go to sleep, Itachi."

The young man shifted into a kneeling position and bowed down in front of her. "Thank you very much for your help, Sora-san. You've done so much for me."

"You're welcome," Sora replied. "Consider yourself lucky I have a soft spot for you."

Itachi had stood up to leave when the old woman added, "Brillliant people oftentimes turn into fools when emotions come into play."

The Uchiha paused in his tracks. He glanced back at her with an unreadable look on his face.

She continued, "Her safety depends on how well you keep your emotions in check. Make sure Pain-sama never finds out."

"There is nothing to find out, Sora-san."

"Good. Now make it look as convincing as it sounds. Even for me."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Welp...here are a few points I'd like to make.

1.) Itachi's sickness. Everybody knows he's sick but not everybody knows with what. There was a written piece about Itachi hypothesizing that he suffered from Microscopic Polyangitis. And whoever wrote it did a lot of research and citations. A lot of fans are convinced with it. While I applaud him/her for the piece I like to keep things in this fic more "traditional"... Also I believe that a congenital heart defect makes sense with Itachi's condition as a whole. More on that in the ff chapters.

2.) In Wikipedia, Itachi isn't listed as a sensor type. I'm not a hardcore Naruto fan but from what I can tell, all the characteristics of a sensor type can be easily seen in people with Eye Techniques (ie Byakugan, Sharingan, Rinnegan). So I took some liberty in that and assumed that our favorite badass is a sensor type.

3.) Uzumakis are known for their unusually large chakra reserves hence Sora's reference to them. Also, Itachi having low chakra reserves makes perfect sense if you look at it objectively...he rarely engages in prolonged hand-to-hand combat. Not saying he does not fight. He acts more on the defense, is evasive and if he does attack, it's often with genjutsu. If not, his moves are VERY calculated, with him making the most damage with as little effort as possible.

4.) Re: Someone else knowing about Itachi's condition. It's not common knowledge, not even among the Akatsuki, but somebody must have known other than Tobi. The boy must have consulted with someone and knowing his trust issues, it must be someone he deemed worthy to earn this nugget of information that could very much break him. Sora was just supposed to be this medic nin acting as a "helper" much like Fudo but for some reason she stepped up her game while I was making the draft.

5.) Another confusing chapter to write. Seriously, it's tricky to write about Itachi and Emotions on the same context. Itachi gives away so little with regards to how he actually feels that showing blatant emotion for him this early in the story can easily make him OOC. And it sucks because this is supposed to be a turning point for the both of them...well, I think it is anyway. I try to be subtle without it being too subtle that you guys can't pick on it. It's been fun and challenging but I hope you enjoy that bit.

As always, reviews are always welcomed. See ya.


	11. Drag

That chilly October morning Itachi found himself in-charge of the headquarters. Kisame took off early to do some personal errands. Fudo had descended to the village market to do groceries. The only ones left in the gigantic building were him and his sleeping ward.

 _"You took a lot of risk postponing your treatment for her sake. Make sure she stays alive. I'd be really cross if we went to all that trouble and end up with a corpse."_

Sora's words still rang clear in his head even after a few days. Without a doubt, the medic-nin meant it when she said she'd go after his head, Sharingan and all, if he allowed any harm to fall on the newly patched up Shiori. Luckily, with the way she rolled around in the tatami mats and talked in her sleep, Itachi felt confident that he didn't have to do much for her.

Come midday, the dark-haired shinobi had retreated back to their abode after spending hours honing his taijutsu and knife-throwing skills. He had rounded the last corner on his way to the kitchen when he saw a slumped figure toddling against the stone walls. With slow, deliberate steps, Shiori shuffled her way to the dining area.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," he called out, causing the girl to jump in surprise.

"Can you not sneak up on me like that?" she snapped back angrily. The sudden movement sent a shot of pain in her abdomen. "You're scary enough as it is!"

Ignoring her verbal jabs, the Uchiha walked over to her and took her by the forearm. "Let me help you back to bed. Sora-san won't to be too happy if she sees you up." He slowly steered the girl away from the kitchen and towards the bedrooms.

"Itachi, you don't understand I - "

The loud grumble of Shiori's stomach made the tandem pause. Neither moved as the undeniable sounds of hunger stretched on for a few more seconds.

"- am starving," she continued in a small voice, face red from embarrassment. She began to sway on her feet, prompting the shinobi to hold on to her with both hands.

" _Please_ let me eat."

Itachi bit his lip. "Well, Fudo-san had gone out to do groceries and he's not back yet. I don't think we have anything to cook."

"Nooo," the famished girl sighed, resting her forehead against his chest. Itachi stiffened at the unexpected contact and gently pushed her away from him, noting the pleasant scent of her newly-washed hair.

"Shiori-san..."

"Can I eat one of your crows then?"

What little affection he had felt towards his ward flew out of the window upon hearing her suggestion. An image of Shiori happily devouring the crow that contained Shisui's eye crossed his mind and he had the sudden urge to drop her.

"What? _No._ "

"I'm not joking, man. If I don't eat soon I'll pass out. Again."

Itachi left her learning against the wall before he headed to the kitchen. There was the soft sound of the refrigerator being rummaged through. When he returned, he had a cardboard box in his hands.

"Say, Shio-san. What do you think about day-old dangos at the moment?"

The gray-eyed girl could have cried on the spot.

"Like heaven on a stick."

* * *

"Is it that strange that I stash leftover dango? You look surprised."

"No. I'm surprised that you don't finish all of them in one go."

As far as Shiori was aware, Itachi was forever in love with three objects: Sasuke, Konoha, and dango. She had glimpses of a younger version of him easily finishing half a dozen servings of the sweet dumplings in a single sitting. She doubted that his sweet tooth grew smaller as he grew older.

On her insistence, the two had settled down on a porch near the dining area before attacking the box of dango Itachi had bought the previous day. Every once in awhile he would ask her how she was feeling and how her injuries were healing to which she replied positively. They entertained the thought that perhaps Kisame was on a date and wondered briefly how the Samehada was going to react to that. Itachi even surprised her with a weather joke that was so witty she actually chuckled. For the most part, they both stayed quiet, feeling contented with each others' company the the sweets they had in hand.

"I almost forgot." Itachi's right hand dug into the pocket of his trousers and took out a pack of cigarettes. "These are from Kisame-san. He said he couldn't get his hands on a get-well card so he got you these instead."

Shiori laughed as she took the cigarettes from him with a grateful bow. "I bet he's too embarrassed to buy a card and took the easy way out."

"I bet you're right." Itachi's eyes never left the dark-haired girl as she peeled the box open and took out one stick. He held out his hand and conjured a tongue of flame for her to light her cigarette on. Shiori winked at him before taking a long drag, letting the nicotine soak in her chest before blowing out a cloud of smoke with a satisfied smile.

"My first cigarette in two years," she mumbled before taking another drag. This time it was shorter. The curious look on Itachi's face made her feel self-conscious.

"What?" she asked, smoking curling out of her lips.

Itachi looked down, fumbling at the wooden skewer in his hands. "I just realized that aside from your bloodline limit, I hardly know anything about you at all."

"That's weird coming from Konoha's biggest enigma." Despite everything she had glimpsed in his memories, Uchiha Itachi still remained a mystery to her. And as enticing as this made him, she had become too jaded to delude herself with the belief that she was the girl who can figure him out and change him for the better. If his parents and little brother couldn't get him to open up then she doubted she could get the job done either.

"You're a bit of an enigma yourself, Shiori-san." He threw a sideway glance at her.

"Not really. The difference between you and me, Itachi-san, is that with me, all you have to do is ask."

It was all the consent Itachi needed to hear. "You smoke?"

In response, she waved the lit cigarette in front of him. _Duh._

"I did at one time. It's a long story."

He leaned forward and took another stick of tri-coloured dango. "I'll be the judge of that."

Shiori blew out a puff of smoke and continued, "Right. This guy broke up with me when I was sixteen. He was my first love, first everything, so naturally when he called it quits, life turned into a shitfest, for lack of a better word. My apologies but there's no other way to say it. It was _bad_. I cried constantly, which was bad enough as it was but it got worse because my bestfriend Miyako always cried too whenever she saw me cry. So I came up with this brilliant idea. Every time I felt a new batch of tears coming I would light up a cigarette and make up this silly excuse that the smoke was making me tear up. Wanna hear something sillier? She believed me." She chuckled as she drew in another drag. "So there you go. Now you can't say I never told you anything."

'You look so much like him.' She had wanted to say, if only to get it out of her chest, the personal bias she felt that drew her and at the same time repelled her from him.

There was a long pause as Itachi chewed quietly. Shiori couldn't help but wonder whether she had made a blunder by telling him something so personal. Itachi may be nice to her now but he was still the same person who called her a tool, something he can use and dispose off whenever he deemed suitable. A sinking feeling came over her when she realized that this could be one of his mind games, one that didn't need genjutsu because of how easy his target was.

"What a fool." Itachi's judgement came out swiftly and it _hurt_. She could almost feel her newly-repaired intestines rip open once again with his harsh verdict.

"True. I was beyond foolish."

"Not you. Him." His eyes were the color of onyx when he looked at her. "If you could care for your friend that much with a broken heart then I can only imagine what you're capable of with your heart intact. I don't know the entire story but from what little I know, he sounds like a fool for letting you go."

 _'If he's tricking me into trusting him again then I'm sold. He's good.'_

She couldn't help it. She smiled. She smiled wider when he smiled back, not with a phony half smile or with that smile that never quite reached his eyes, but with a genuine one. It lit up his entire face. It was a smile she only ever saw in memories which involved Shisui or Sasuke, and once with Izumi.

"I guess we have one thing in common, Itachi-san. We both care too much."

"Hn."

* * *

"Shiori-san, there's something I need to tell you."

It was late in the afternoon and the atmosphere grew colder with the coming dusk. What started as an impromptu lunchbreak between the two stretched into idle chitchat which lasted for hours. Sometime during the day, the dango box had been pushed on one corner. The cigarettes were forgotten. While talking and exchanging witty comebacks, they managed to shuffle nearer to each other until they ended up sitting side by side on the edge of the floorboards, their legs dangling above well-kept moss. They sat close enough that Itachi's arm would brush against hers and there would only be the fabric of her shirt standing between her and his memories.

 _That_ side of the shinobi emerged once again. And rather than insult the Uchiha for being a two-faced trickster, Shiori had decided she was fed up with all the hate. She was going to indulge to this side of him while she could. The chances of her getting close enough to Itachi to know the real him were slim to none. This lukewarm version of him was the best she could hope for.

"Are you listening to me?"

Shiori nodded and he continued. "That mission nearly cost you your life. If it were up to me, I'd limit your jobs to interrogations done in secured headquarters. But I'm afraid I'm not in the position to stop them if they send you out again."

"Can I do it without trying to seduce someone at least?"

Itachi's hands curled into fists as his gaze landed on a prominent bruise at the side of her neck. "I can't promise you that either. Is that...Jiro's"

A flash of heat spread across her cheeks as she let her hair fall over the ghastly sight. "His last hurrah, which was the only thing he managed to do, fortunately."

"Right. Having said that, I think it's wise that you take up a new skill to better arm yourself."

Shiori scoffed at this. "If you think you can make me carry shurikens in my bra then you are mistaken. Sorry Itachi-san but I think there's a greater chance that I'd end up stabbing myself with the things rather than hitting the enemy with them. It's not going to work."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with you on that one," Itachi replied. "Actually, I was wondering if there is anything we can do about your chakra control."

His Sharingan activated, turning his irises into the bright red color that was both feared and revered by many shinobi.

"You have a leaky chakra. It's not something you notice with the naked eye but my Sharingan allows me to observe it. For sensor types, shinobi with the ability to sense chakra, you're as visible as a flare torch."

Shiori remembered something that Sasori mentioned to them back in the mansion. "It was a sensor type who came after us that night."

"True. Sasori and Deidara are adept at concealing their chakra so they were well off against him. That night, they thought they didn't conceal their chakra well enough and blamed themselves for being caught. I believe the reason that shinobi spotted your group wasn't because of them."

Shiori's heart sank at this. "He followed the flare torch."

"That's right. And he threw the blade at it...at you. I've always thought you could use some training on controlling your chakra. It wasn't until after this incident, when they've confirmed that they intend to send you out in the field rather than keep you hidden in safe houses that I realized this skill is a necessity for you. I can't teach you how to fight like a shinobi but I can teach you how to hide like one. I only have enough time to teach you the principles and techniques. I'll leave the mastery to you."

"Don't expect me to get it right in an instant but I'll definitely try." Shiori wasn't too keen on getting skewered the second time around.

"There's one more thing." By the time she met his gaze, his Sharingan had deactivated. "I've been observing your chakra flow everytime your read someone. If you can master concealing it, there will be a side effect in store for you, one that I think you'd like."

"A side effect?"

"How do you feel about being able to touch people without having to intrude their memories?"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Thank you for the few of you who took the time to review. I swear to god you guys always make my day. For the silent readers, followers and those who hit favorite, thank you very much as well. I'm not above begging for reviews because really, I don't get to see you guys. So it's the only way I get to find out about your thoughts in this thing. If you're not in a hurry, no bus to catch or train to chase, do leave a review. XDD Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Will try to do a more Itachi-centric piece in the next couple of chapters. It's gonna be tough because I don't know if anyone is sure of how Itachi's mind works. He's just so...weird.


	12. Assumptions

He wanted to make sure she lived. She realized after her brush with death that she wasn't as ready to die as she had hoped. It only seemed reasonable that she accepted his offer.

She should have left it at yes.

The easy way had been to assume that Itachi did it to increase her longevity and prolong her usefulness. But a part of her, the part that was fed up with being kept in the dark wanted answers. It was never going to forgive her if she blindly followed his lead yet again without trying to find out the real reason behind his actions.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

Shiori cursed inwardly. She had always been good with sales talk. But when it came to things that matter, words had a knack of failing her.

"With you I always feel like I have to read between the lines. There's constantly a hidden agenda behind every decision that you make and I don't have enough brain cells to figure out what it is. Like what you're doing now, you're volunteering to help me. Why?"

He shifted so that his entire body was facing her. In those few seconds she could already see the cogs and wheels in his brilliant mind formulating a flawless argument.

'Just shut up already,' she scolded herself.

"You've been my ward for months. You should know by now. Kisame-san and I didn't go through the trouble of extracting you from Shimo just to get you slaughtered, not someone with an ability as unusual as yours."

"But that's too obvious," she muttered to herself. She felt his warm breath as he sighed in exasperation and she shivered. For someone who had spent most of her life being held at arm's length, the proximity was unnerving.

"What are you getting at, Shiori-san? Are you implying that I have other reasons other than to keep you safe?" He was playing with her now.

"I know more than half of your life story, Itachi-san. For someone as shrewd as you I'm more convenient dead than alive. I could leak information about you and Konoha to the enemies."

Obsidian eyes narrowed at her. She refused to believe that she was giving him ideas. Uchiha Itachi always thought five steps ahead. He knew this was a possibility.

"You wouldn't dare," he replied. He was right. She couldn't, especially since she knew the reasons why he did what he did to the clan. Still she wanted him to know that she was aware of this possibility.

'Maybe you're suicidal after all,' she told herself.

"But I _can_ and you know that. Kisame-san always talks about these missions you do where you eliminate threats. It doesn't matter whether a person or an entire village hasn't done anything yet. If there's even a small possibility that they _might_ do something, they have to be taken down, isn't it?"

Itachi thought about the slim chance of Shiori being captured by Konoha and interrogated by the infamous Yamanaka Inoichi. If a person of his caliber went inside Shiori's mind and saw what she saw, then his entire hometown was going to be in on the largest expose in the village's history. She had a point.

"Why are you doing this?"

He knew exactly why. But Sora's warning rang loud and true. And the only way to heed her warning was to keep on doing what he did best. Play mind games.

"It's certainly not because I _want_ to keep you alive. I have to. Shiori-san please do not assume that you can understand my reasons."

He smiled wryly when Shiori resigned with a frown. He had trumped her. And because of that he could keep her blind and safe for another day.

If there was one thing he realized after the Moto mission it was that he could no longer afford to lose her. He didn't want this to happen, not while he was in the middle of spying on an organization like Akatsuki. But it has. If he was to remain calm and collected, he needed to rid himself of unnecessary worries. One way of doing that was to make sure that Shiori had an ounce of knowledge on how to keep herself alive.

That night he dreamt of Shisui. His bestfriend had laughed at his face in the most insulting way possible. And when his guffaws calmed down enough for him to talk, the older Uchiha said, "I've always known you're a softie, 'tachi. But I never expected you to get so worked up over a crush."

* * *

They had just finished a mission in the Land of Waves when news of the tragedy was relayed to them by Pain. Orochimaru had orchestrated an attack against the Hidden Leaf. The Third Hokage was one of the casualties. The news had hit him like a wrecking ball to the jaw and it was all he could do not to drop everything and rush to Konoha the first chance he got.

'Sasuke,' he thought miserably. His otouto had become more vulnerable than anyone was aware of. Nobody knew about the deal he had made with the late Hiruzen Sarutobi. Aside from Danzo, the old man had been the only one in Konoha who was aware of the real reason behind the massacre and the agreements made in lieu of it. With Hiruzen gone, no one will be able to stop Danzo if he decided to strike on Sasuke. No one except him.

As soon as Pain asked for one of them to check on the village's current situation, Itachi volunteered in a heartbeat. The Third Hokage didn't change the codes to the village's barriers just so he could drop by to check on Sasuke if he wanted to. He hadn't considered availing to this privilege in the past but with the current events, he had used it as his ace. He also added keeping tabs on the nine-tails' jinchuriki as one of his objectives and not long after, he had formulated a convincing and airtight alibi.

As they rushed towards Fire Country, he could tell Kisame was surprised that he had volunteered. Members of the Akatsuki often dreaded going back to their homeland, not wanting to be recognized or bump into former comrades. This applied to him as well. Had it not been for other factors coming into play he would have stayed as far away from the shinobi village as possible.

"The village was at the height of prosperity. What a shame."

Kisame stole a sideway glance at him. They were perched on one of Konoha's walls overlooking the massive village when the thought crossed the Uchiha's mind. He didn't think his partner would pick up on the sincerity of his words. The swordsman surprised him by doing just that.

"That was out of character. So even you have feelings for your birthplace after all?"

The lie rolled out of his tongue without a single hitch.

"No. Not at all."

* * *

The mission had been a disaster. What started as a simple surveillance run had landed his former senpai and his beloved otouto in the hospital. Hatake Kakashi had succumbed to the effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sasuke had fared worse. His broken wrist and cracked ribs barely scratched the surface compared to the psychological damage he had cost him, all in the name of the Uchiha honor. The "sorry" he had whispered for every blow that landed on his little brother sounded like mockery no matter how much he meant them. His sick heart clenched painfully and breathing became difficult, like his own body was punishing him for the heinous acts he was committing. He thanked the gods when Jiraiya came to the rescue. The one-third of the Legendary Sannin gave him a reason to stop and retreat.

"It was two against one, Itachi-san," Kisame argued as they sped out of Konoha borders. "We could've taken him down and taken the jinchuriki with us."

The swordsman was right but Itachi thought he didn't have to know that.

"You don't know what the Toad Sage is capable of," he replied.

He refused to stop running until they reached the Hidden Grass Village. In another surprising turn of events, Itachi bypassed the little dango shop and made a beeline for the shop two stalls down.

"Who are you and what have you done to the real Itachi?" Kisame joked as he took the seat across the young shinobi. The dark-haired boy handed him a bottle of sake after pouring himself a full shot.

"Help yourself."

* * *

Shiori could tell something was off just by looking at him. For one, he was glowing pink from the tips of his ears to the visible patches of skin on his neck. His eyes, which were their normal dark color, had an unusual glint in them. It was a phenomenon Shiori was all too familiar with, one that she associated with stolen bottles of sake and dreadful hangovers in the mornings after.

She blinked a couple of times to make sure it wasn't just her paranoia playing tricks on her. Itachi still looked drunk.

"No way," she murmured.

If Konan noticed anything she didn't mention it. She continued with her report regarding the occurrence of clan members with bloodline limits going missing. The kidnappings were spreading all the way to the Hidden Grass Village and Orochimaru was still their prime suspect.

"Were you tailed?" Itachi asked, giving a pointed look at Shiori.

"In the beginning we were," the kunoichi replied. "Their suspicions vanished when one of the market vendors recognized her."

Itachi made a sound which was halfway between a surprised gasp and a hiccup. "How?"

"He was a regular customer of the merchant caravan I used to travel with."

"You never told me you were a merchant."

"More like a merchant's daughter. I didn't think that information was important so I didn't bother. My apologies."

"We could put those street smarts into good use for more espionage missions," Konan pointed out. "You just need a bit of polishing."

Shiori looked down on the floor and said nothing while Itachi gave Konan the coldest poker face he could muster.

Not one for small talk, Konan quickly dismissed herself and vanished into an explosion of paper butterflies, leaving Itachi, Kisame and Shiori to themselves. The blue-skinned swordsman shifted the Samehada on his back before excusing himself.

"Give me a minute to take a leak and we're good to go," he said in a gruff voice, hurrying out of the room in search for a toilet. The remaining two stood side by side in silence for a few seconds before Shiori burst with the question she had been itching to ask.

"You drunk, Itachi-san?"

"Nope."

'Nope? _Nope?_ '

"Right," she drawled, not bothering to hide the fact that she wasn't convinced with his blatant lie.

"You need to work on your chakra control," he said in an attempt to change the subject. "You may have most people fooled with your acts but it will be trickier to shake off a sensor type when you have a foot of chakra leaking out of your bare skin."

"I've been practicing, believe me. But it's not as easy as it sounds. Actually it's quite difficult-"

"- If you have practiced as often as I told you, it wouldn't be -"

"-More difficult than masking that floral scent you have on...from one of your female _friends_ I assume."

The silence that followed stirred the rage Shiori felt within her and she couldn't explain why. At that very moment, she _hated_ Itachi with a passion. The mere sight of him made her want to kick his shin and make a run for it.

"What I do in my free time is none of your business." There was a hint of irritation in his voice. Shiori should be scared. Instead she just got more riled up.

"I know. Don't worry though. That cherry blossom perfume matches your rosy cheeks." God, how she hated Itachi. Itachi and cherry blossoms.

Kisame walked in on the two glowering at each other and for a split second, he was hesitant to interrupt them.

It was during the trek back to the Land of Hot Water that Shiori heard about what happened in Konoha. Punches had been thrown and people had been hurt. Among those who suffered extensive damage was Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's beloved younger brother. Hearing that it had been the older Uchiha who gave him the nearly fatal blows left a strange aftertaste in her mouth. She stared at Itachi's back while he walked ahead of them. It suddenly made sense to her why he had gotten so smashed that day. She remembered how it crushed his heart when he first subjected the then eight-year-old Sasuke to the Mangekyou Sharingan in the past. The fact that he had to do it _again_ for the sake of protecting him must have pushed Itachi so close to going over the edge and just losing it. Alcohol and sex were pathetic means of numbing the guilt but with Kisame watching his every move, what else could he have done?

* * *

He had just taken the numerous pills and potions Sora had instructed him to take and he was ready to leave that dreadful day behind when a familiar presence outside his door caught his attention. It took that person several minutes to muster the courage to knock. Even then Itachi was tempted to ignore her. She knocked again. This time he gave in. When he opened the bedroom door he made it a point that his yukata exposed the bite mark that faceless woman left on his chest from earlier that day. He wanted to drive her away. He wanted to be left alone. Monsters like him made terrible company anyway.

For a while his plan almost worked. Disgust flashed across her eyes at the sight of his bare skin but Shiori was determined.

"Tell me about what happened in Konoha," she had said.

"Kisame has told you everything you need to know."

"I don't care. I want _you_ to talk about it."

"Hn." A sarcastic smile graced his dry lips. "I shared dango with you for a day and you already think you can order me around."

The look on her face was priceless.

"Go to sleep Shiori-san. I'm sure you're tired too." He had made a move to close the door but Shiori stopped him.

"Listen to me," she hissed. "Maybe it's because you're so damn smart that you feel like you can do everything by yourself but the truth is you're wrong. No man is an island Itachi-san. No matter how powerful you think you are, if you plan to take on everything alone then you're bound to fail. I don't want you to fail. That's why I'm here to let you know that...that you have me. Talk to me. I promise I'll do what I can to help. I owe you that much."

"You think a person like you can help me?" He might had sounded arrogant but at least he wasn't deluded. He had fallen from grace years ago and there was nothing anyone can do to help him with that.

"We don't know unless you let me!" she exclaimed, flinging the half-closed door away from him. Small, pale hands landed on his shoulders and gave them a firm squeeze.

"Please. Talk."

 _Make sure Pain-sama never finds out._

Itachi took her by the arms and slowly pushed her back before closing the door between the two of them.

She didn't leave immediately and kept on standing on the spot he had pushed her on. She was close enough for him to feel her chakra. If he stood as close to the door as he could and rest his forehead on the cold wood he could still feel the warmth of her presence and so that's what he did. He sighed at the relief she had unknowingly provided. It made him realize why he found himself looking for ways to spend as much time as he could near to her. Her very presence soothed him, like a balm to the festering wounds his soul had silently endured since he was thirteen.

Shiori stayed rooted on her spot for a good ten minutes before she dragged her feet back to her room. Every step that took her away made him shiver until there was just him and his demons once again. In the dead of the night, with only the moon as his witness, Itachi allowed himself to cry. He cried for his honor which was now in tatters, for Sasuke who had endured the unbearable pain and shame caused by the betrayal of his aniki, for the family he had been forced to let go of, and finally for his own humanity, which he had lost while traversing this pitch black path he had chosen for himself.

'If you plan to take on everything alone then you're bound to fail.' Shiori's words haunted him through the hot tears and the fire in his chest. And as he doubled over to catch his breath, he found himself wishing he could take back what he just did to her.

"Don't go," he mumbled in the darkness of his room. "Shiori, don't go."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: S** ome of the conversations in this bit (Kisame-Itachi) are directly taken from episodes of the Itachi Shinden in Naruto Shippuden. The silent apologies by Itachi to Sasuke are also anime canon and therefore not mine. So is the scene in the Land of Waves. I've been trying to make the previous chapters light because I know this angst-bomb was coming. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it.


	13. Thank You

Everything he had warned her against came one day in what ought to have been a run-of-the-mill intel-gathering mission. Her job had been to interview locals to gather enough information for Deidara and Sasori to successfully infiltrate the target's estate and go for the kill. The plan had been painfully simple until the minute she bumped into a shinobi from the Uzumaki clan.

The results had been catastrophic. Deidara and Sasori were pinpointed instantly and a flurry of kunais and jutus ensued. Sasori had told her early on that she might be left to her own devices while they thwart off the attacks.

"Make sure they do not find you and try not to get yourself killed," the puppeteer said.

She made a mad dash into a cupboard in one of the vegetable shops and worked frantically on keeping herself invisible. Itachi's deep voice echoed in her head as it mentioned the step-by-step guide on controlling one's own chakra.

'Picture it as a coil twisting in the direction that your hair is growing. Now make it tighter. Hold on to it and try to make it small enough to fit your body.'

"Small and compact. Small and compact. Shit," she whispered, eyes scrunched shut in concentration. She concentrated so hard in keeping the chakra tendrils as close to her body as possible that she didn't hear Deidara shout out the most lethal syllable that he was capable of.

"Katsu!"

Shiori screamed as the cupboard doors were ripped out of their hinges, carried away by the clay bomb that he had detonated. The Kumo-nin who had survived the blast spun around at her direction. It was the Uzumaki shinobi, the sensor type. The redhead grinned evilly at her.

"Impressive. I thought the first wave of attacks already killed you."

Shiori pressed her back harder against the wooden wall as he closed in on her.

"Don't even think for one second that you can fool me. I can recognize that chakra anywhere. You Rinhas have always been such a pain in the ass but you had just stepped up the game by playing traitor."

Gray eyes grew round in surprise. 'How did he know?'

Before she could blink, he had formed the hand seals and had poised to slam his hands to the floor.

"Lightning Style! Spiderweb!"

"Shiori watch out!"

It was a knee-jerk reaction. The tight coil of chakra that she had been holding on to for dear life sprang out of her grasp as she braced herself to be electrocuted. She shrieked in fear and lifted both arms to cover her face.

The electric current never came. She cracked one eye open and saw blood splattered on the floor space between her and the Kumo-nin. He screamed in agony as he lifted his hands to survey the damage. To his horror, he came face to face with a pair of bloody stumps. Both hands had been sliced off from his wrists.

"For fuck's sake Shio-chan, we're on the same team!" Deidara roared as he clutched on to his bleeding right cheek. A deep cut had appeared from the side of his nose running all the way to the skin below his ear.

"What...what happened?" she asked, stunned.

* * *

For once Deidara had something interesting to report to him. The Earth Style Specialist narrated to him what happened in the shop with the Cloud Village shinobi and Shiori. At first his statement did not make sense, much to the blonde's annoyance. Not wanting to leave things as a mystery, Itachi forced more details out of him, everything that he had seen and heard. He had to know all about it.

His nagging paid off. The conclusion that the clues were pointing to were very interesting. Dark eyes inspected the deep cut on Deidara's cheek.

"And you're absolutely sure the blow came from Shiori-san's direction?"

"I'm telling you man, she did it. Hn."

The petite girl snorted in disbelief. "Me? I was standing _across_ the room from you. How could I have possibly done that?"

"It certainly wasn't the amputee-nin."

"Maybe his technique backfired."

"That was a lightning style technique. If that was what hit me then trust me, I would have known, Hn."

"So? Just because it wasn't him doesn't mean it was me!"

Sasori and Itachi thought it was best to get the two separated before the banters escalated into fireworks. Sasori lugged Deidara by the collar of his cloak to see Sora while Itachi pulled Shiori into her room and closed the door behind him.

"You have better not tricked me into practicing freaking ninjutsu or I swear to Kami-"

"Were you trying to control your chakra by any chance before he came to you?"

Shiori was surprised by the question but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"And just before he attacked you, what was happening on your side?"

Adrenaline had made her memories fuzzy and recalling them had become difficult. She scratched the back of her head. "I was waiting for it, I supposed. What do you mean by that actually?"

"What happened to your chakra control?"

Shiori looked at him like he was an imbecile. In retaliation he rolled his eyes at her, a move that was very uncharacteristic of the stoic Uchiha. He then nodded his head at her, urging her to answer the question.

"Forgot all about it," she muttered. "The whole chakra coil business flew right out of my hands. I mean, the redhead was seconds away from frying me, Itachi-san. What was I supposed to do?"

"I see." Itachi stepped closer to her, forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. "Something about what that Kumo-nin said stood out. At first he thought you had died from the first explosion. As a sensor type, that might have meant that he wasn't able to detect your chakra. He didn't know you were there until Deidara-san exposed your location."

Shiori realized why Itachi found this interesting. Aside from members with abundant chakra reserves, the Uzumaki clan had produced a handful of brilliant sensors who could pinpoint a chakra signature from many miles away. She had even heard Shimo-nins joking that it often paid to have an Uzumaki in the group when you're playing hide-and-seek with the enemy.

What Itachi was implying was so unbelievable that it made her stomach churn.

"But that doesn't explain what happened with that shinobi's hands."

"Condensed chakra can be volatile especially if the wielder's control isn't excellent. It's not common but there had been instances where an exercise in chakra control led to an unexpected yin-and-yang release.

All Itachi got in reply was a look of utter confusion. He sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that you succeeded for some time. The threat posed by that Cloud-nin caused you to lose control and accidentally release moulded chakra at his and Deidara's direction.

Shiori gasped. "So it was me after all."

"Don't feel bad. Nobody expects those kinds of occurrences to happen. You could've done worse. You could've sent it your way and harmed yourself."

She avoided his gaze and trained her eyes on the floor. His words did nothing to ease the guilt in her chest. "I don't think this control thing is safe for me to use for now. There's no telling whose limb I'm cutting off next."

There was a long pause as Itachi's mind worked double time to try to convince his ward otherwise. He knew that she had acquired the ability. But what good will learning a new skill do if she would be too afraid to use it?

The answer was glaringly obvious. He had to prove to her that she can trust herself to use it.

"We can find out right now," he said as he sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor. Shiori followed his lead and sat in front of him, not entirely sure where he was getting at.

With his Sharingan activated, he held up his left hand towards her.

"Try to hold my hand without getting inside my head."

Shiori's jaw dropped open. Despite the shock, she had to agree with him. Nothing got her more flustered than Uchiha Itachi in her personal space. It was the ultimate test for her concentration and chakra control. The fact that he was initiating the whole thing made her more restless.

"Itachi-san..."she whispered.

"Isn't that what you've always wanted? To be able to touch people without drowning in their memories? Well I'm telling you right now, it's a possibility." He urged her to move by pushing his open palm nearer to her. She shrank back.

"I thought it was just a hypothesis."

"Then let's turn it into a fact. I trust you, Shiori."

She was painfully aware of how he had dropped the honorific in her name. It may not seem much but for someone as emotionally walled-off as Itachi, it was a massive leap forward.

Closing her eyes, she let out a shaky breath and went through the steps in her head. This time she was more deliberate, more careful with her control. There was no point denying the reason why.

Because it was Itachi who had put himself in the line.

When she opened her eyes, they glinted with unshed tears. Her heart thundered in her chest. The last thing she wanted to do that very moment was to hurt him. Nothing scared her more than knowing that she was capable to doing so.

Itachi met her gaze and, taking the largest leap of faith, deactivated his Sharingan right in front of her.

"Hold my hand," he said in a low voice.

Gulping loudly, Shiori raised her trembling hand to the level of her face and slowly moved it forward. Gray locked on onyx. She gasped in alarm as her right hand found his. She feared of losing control and repeating the horror that she had done during the previous day. Oblivious to her harrowing thoughts, Itachi threaded his fingers with hers and gave her hand a firm squeeze.

The first she noticed was its size. It was big, big enough that it easily covered hers the moment his fingers curled over her knuckles. It was rough, calloused from a lifetime of wielding weapons and smashing through skin and bones. It was surprisingly warm, a contradiction to his icy demeanor.

And...and...nothing. Absolutely nothing else. There was simply her thumping heart and their intertwined hands. The rest was quiet, including the inside of her head.

Itachi couldn't help but smile at the look of utter surprise on Shiori's face. All the doubts she had felt were slowly draining away and it showed. Meanwhile he allowed himself to revel at the feel of her bare skin against his. He may have known her for nearly a year but this was the first physical contact he had with her where he didn't find the need to guard himself. He shifted their hands so that hers rested fully on his upturned palm. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the smooth skin on his wrist, noting how her pulse grew faster at his touch.

"Excellent," he said, gaze still trained on the intimate position of their hands. Before he got carried away, he stopped the contact and dropped his hand to his knee. Shiori still had a dazed look on her face.

"There's nothing to be scared about. You are capable of doing it. And you did it well."

When she still didn't answer, he took this as his cue to go. He shifted to a kneeling position. "Get some rest. You're going to be loaned to another team tomorrow-"

Words failed him as Shiori flung herself to him, wrapping her arms on his stiff shoulders. The close proximity of her chakra struck him by sending a pleasant jolt all over his beaten up body.

"Shiori?" he asked, tentatively putting a hand on the small of her back.

"Thank you...thank you...thank you..." She had repeated the two words over and over again, sincerely and shakily amidst a stream of joyful tears.

For most of her life she had lived with the fear of getting too close to people, in fear of getting sucked into others' thoughts and being hated for it. She had lived through the nightmare of this fear becoming a reality and had accepted her fate of being untouchable. Itachi had snatched her from that path of solitude and had given her a shot at normalcy. Somehow, despite being her captor, he managed to give back what her ability had taken away from her. Her captor had given her freedom.

When the tears subsided, Shiori looked up at him to find him staring back at her. Then he did something that surprised the both of them. With his left hand still planted on her back, his right hand slowly went up to cup her cheek.

There was the rustling of their clothes and the fluttering of their hearts. There was his warm hand holding her and there were the silly smiles on their faces. Just that and nothing more. Everything else was extremely quiet.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Re: the Uzumaki shinobi. It was said that the Uzumaki clan scattered all over the globe when the Land of Whirpool was destroyed during the Third Shinobi War. I reckon they were a massive clan and hence, didn't exactly know each other and shared each others' ideals. Wrote him to have abilities similar to Karin.

Re: Everything chakra. Information was gathered in Narutopedia. Most of the things mentioned regarding chakra are not my original ideas.

Re: Honorifics (-san, -chan, -sama). What I know: Basically if you know someone at an impersonal level/if its a supervisor-subordinate relationship you follow the honorifics...You only call the person with their name alone if you consider yourself close to them and they to you...otherwise it's extremely rude

Shoutout to **ShawneeSavage** for her reviews. Girl...all I can say is, THANK YOU! Your effort to review and let me know what you think about each chapter means a lot. I needed input and you gave it. You're a star.


	14. Monsters and Demons

They had the option of letting the prisoner go. However, Kakuzu seemed like he was feeling generous that day and allowed Hidan to indulge in his bloodlust. Shiori bolted from her chair and was on her way out of the interrogation room when the green-eyed shinobi barked at her to stay and watch.

"Why? My job is done here."

"For acting out on the Land of Iron mission. Let's see how tough you are without Itachi around."

The statement made her realize why Pain chose Kakuzu to deal with the financial aspects of running the Akatsuki. He was quick to pay debts and was ruthless when it came to collecting payback.

Contrary to what was expected of her, Shiori managed to keep it together during the whole ordeal. She didn't squirm while the captive squealed like a pig as Hidan's curse magically created holes in his body. She didn't scream when the sickening snap of a jaw dislocating off a skull echoed in the bare room. And she barely batted an eye when Hidan dealt the final blow, spraying bits of flesh and blood on her open-toed sandals.

'People can get used to anything, even cruelty,' Kisame had once told her. Back then she had openly disagreed with him, telling the swordsman that only the darkest hearts can remain unfazed at the sight of such brutal deaths.

Now she wasn't so sure which among the two of them had been right. Had she become desensitized to cruelty or had she turned into one of the monsters she had once been so afraid of? Thinking about the latter caused bile to rise up her throat. Hidan noticed her look of disgust and thought it was directed at him.

"Oh don't be like that Shio-chan. Now you're just playing favorites."

Shiori blinked a few times, confused. "What do you mean?"

The gray-haired man waited until the black bled out of his skin to make way for its normal tan hue. Then he shrugged his cloak over his naked torso.

"You may find it hard to believe but I'm just as much a sadistic motherfucker as Kisame and Itachi are. They wouldn't be wearing this cloak if they weren't."

That night Hidan's words haunted her well enough that it robbed her of sleep. Her mind kept wandering back to the week before, to their almost-kiss and the tender way he had held her. Against her will, her mind skipped back to Itachi's memories on the night of the massacre, the ruthless way he had slaughtered his clansmen, the feeling of his katana slicing through the flesh of an uncle, of an aunt...of his parents. Despite what her heart was begging her to overlook, her mind couldn't unsee the fact that the two boys on both instances were one and the same. There was only one Itachi. Those hands she had threaded her fingers through were the same ones that spilled the blood of over a hundred Uchihas. Had she really gone so low as to become attracted to someone so heinous?

Even if what he did was a means to an end, repulsion instinctively came over her when she thought of the things everyone knew he was capable of.

"This has to stop," she told herself, more as a plea than as a statement.

Shiori could tell she was falling for him despite knowing that she shouldn't. She didn't know that it was possible to be so drawn to a person she wanted to run away from.

* * *

He wasn't even nineteen yet but he could already feel his life ticking away. When he woke up that morning, his surroundings looked blurrier than they were the day before. Breathing took more effort to do. At rest, the strain was barely noticeable but he knew that as soon as he got too worked up, he would feel as though his head was being held underwater.

True enough, after three hours of training and practicing formations with Kisame, he barely made it to an empty corner of the vast yard before he allowed himself to reduce into a gasping, squatting mess. He could tell it was bad because he hadn't had a spell of that caliber since before he entered the Academy.

It was Sora who found him that way. She kept mum even as she noted the blue tint on the young man's lips.

"I thought I've outgrown this," he said in between gasps, making a move to stand up.

"Don't," Sora interrupted. "That position helps the blood run faster all over you while your heart corrects itself."

She gave him time to catch his breath before they headed into his bedroom. There he proceeded to peel off his soaked mesh shirt.

Despite his condition, Itachi had the body of your run-of-the-mill shinobi. He was slender yet sinewy, with well-defined muscles on his back, shoulders and arms that betrayed his above average strength. His ANBU tattoo glistened prominently against the pale skin on his left arm. All in all, he looked like the invincible warrior he wanted everyone to believe.

Sora kneeled behind him before activating the Mystic Palm Technique, which engulfed her hands with a greenish glow. She let them hover over his back. Itachi shuddered at the blunt pain it caused.

"Such a shame that I couldn't fix you the way I want to," she said. "I only know of one medic-nin who could cure a disease which is present at birth. It's that Senju descendant from your village."

"Tsunade-hime."

"Yes. That girl. Though I reckon she'd be more inclined to kill you rather than heal you."

Itachi hung his head in defeat. He had to agree with the old woman.

"It doesn't matter," he replied flatly. Besides, a healthy heart would not sit well with the plans he had in store for himself and for Sasuke.

The chakra coming from Sora's hands undid the new damage on his lungs and chest, leaving a warm throb all over his torso. Its soothing effect reminded him of a particular chakra signature which he hadn't seen in over a week. And if he were to be honest with himself, he kind of missed it.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan damages your body faster than you can heal it. I know things can get cutthroat within the Akatsuki but if you continue using that damned dojutsu, time will come that even I wouldn't be able to help you. You know that right?"

Sora's question pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yes."

The old woman sighed. "I don't get you 'tachi. For someone so smart, you sure are good at being stupid."

Itachi was called many things. Stupid wasn't often one of them. He smiled wryly. "You think so?"

"Or maybe I got it all wrong and I'm the one who isn't smart enough to understand your reasons."

"I doubt that, Sora-san."

The medic-nin wasn't too far from the truth. Despite being called a prodigy and despite being astute, he couldn't find a way to maintain peace in Konoha without playing into Danzo's goal of annihilating the Uchiha clan. And like salt to an open wound, his life-long mission of keeping Sasuke safe was unraveling before his eyes. The foolish kid had joined Orochimaru, of all people, in his quest for power, the same quest _he_ had ingrained to the young boy on the night of the massacre. At the rate things were going downhill for him, it wasn't too far-fetched to think that he had overestimated his capabilities and was now facing the consequences of this stupid mistake.

Then on top of all those disasters, he had the audacity to entertain his growing obsession with a civilian. He could imagine the late Fugaku turning on his grave once he catches the news that his first born was falling hard for a Rinha bastard who couldn't even perform a decent jutsu instead of a distant relative with at least a three tomoe Sharingan on her.

He couldn't forget the desire stirring in his guts when she had stood so close to him. He had _wanted_ her in a way that was beyond the lust he had felt for other women, which bothered him. It made the optimistic side of him crave to be accepted by her even if the realist in him believed it to be a longshot, if not downright impossible. After all, she didn't know everything yet. If she could catch a glimpse of the demons that haunted him it would logical to assume that she would do what any sane person would: run for the hills.

Thinking about this troubled him more than it ought to and he didn't have a single clue on what to do about it.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Better late than never. =)


	15. An Open Book

Shiori thought that after over a year with the Akatsuki, nothing surprised her anymore. She held on to her sanity by bracing herself for the unexpected. Unfortunately for her, this was easier said than done. That day her cover was blown, something she saw coming the moment one of the Grass daimyo's brother's guards noted that the bar owner didn't mention anything about hiring a new employee, much less someone who was an outsider. Next came the pain. It was inevitable. She messed up and having the time to actually get hurt was a good price to pay compared to the alternative: a barrage of shurikens lodged in her brain. The shinobi rode a horse as he dragged her by the fringe of her hair for nearly three miles. His companions kept quiet and alert, while the daimyo's brother threw every verbal insult he could from the box-like cocoon that carried him.

They called it No Man's Land, a barren, severely sun-baked patch of earth sitting on the border of Grass and Earth Country. Geographically speaking, Grass Country ended on the ravine at the edge of the parched land. Beyond it was a two-hundred-foot drop which terminated to a raging river down below.

She knew all this because the Grass Country royalty told her so, right before he released the hounds. Five canines tall enough to reach her waist bared their teeth at her. He warned her not to let the beasts sink their fangs into her too soon for that would mean certain death.

"We didn't come all the way here to watch a thirty-second show."

Gray eyes looked at the ravine at the far end and then at the group of men blocking her way out. Defeat flooded her veins when she looked back at the dogs. She had to admit, she couldn't help but be surprised at the turn of events. She had known for a long time that death always lingered around the corner, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. What she didn't expect was for it to be delivered to her by a pack of mutts. She has had nightmares of Orochimaru's giant snake, the one she saw in Itachi's memories, gobble her up alive but dogs?

"You have got to be kidding me."

One dog jumped forward, triggering a domino effect. She had no choice but to run. She didn't dare look back, didn't have to for she could feel their hot breath against her heels. Adrenaline made her run faster than the beasts. It also brought her towards the ravine faster than she would have liked.

"No one has survived a fall from that cliff," the daimyo's brother had said.

'Well if I don't jump I'm dead anyway,' she argued inwardly. She felt a set of fangs graze her ankle before she fought against every instinct she had and jumped.

Fear lodged her scream in her chest, rendering her mute. She braved a glimpse at the rocky demise waiting for her at the bottom, refusing to meet death with her eyes squeezed shut.

Instead she saw Itachi. He met her halfway, caught her while they were both airborne before planting his feet on the vertical cliff.

"Shit! Shit! SHIT!" she exclaimed, squirming in his arms and clinging on his neck for dear life. "I'm gonna fall-"

"Don't panic," he interrupted calmly. "If I wanted you to fall you would have done so already."

His words effectively shut her up. Defying all that she was taught in school about the law of gravity, he pushed off the cliff's surface and catapulted the both of them upwards, landing on the horizontal grounds above.

Kisame was already waiting for them there. And from the blood that seeped into the dry ground, Shiori could tell that he had taken care of the dogs.

"What a surprise!" the daimyo's brother greeted from afar. "She's with you? I thought you guys have a good business relationship with my _aniki_. I doubt he'd be pleased once he finds out about this."

"We can have a good business relationship with anybody for the right price. It's nothing personal," Kisame replied. Then quietly so that only Itachi and Shiori could hear him, he added, "Shio-chan, your screw up may work on our favor. We can send him off without any witnesses."

She raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Are your sharky-eyes going blind? He has thirty-two men with him." She knew because she had counted them, the same way she had monitored the distance from the bar to the border.

"For now," Itachi replied, backing up his partner's words.

"What do you say Itachi-san?" The swordsman grinned, gripping on to the Samehada's handle with his right hand. "We split them half and half. Any formation you prefer?"

"Whatever gets the job done."

"Well you're the leftie so you take left."

Itachi nodded in agreement before turning to the girl standing behind him.

"Keep your eyes open and protect the intel."

Protect the intel. It sounded so objective, almost mechanical, never betraying the true message behind it.

 _Keep safe and stay alive._

The last thing she saw were the tomoe of his Sharingan spinning faster around his pupils before he disappeared with barely a flicker. Not too long after that, blood began spilling from men flanking the left side of their main target. Kisame followed shortly, turning the skirmish into a bloodbath.

The open area induced agoraphobia. It was so plain and flat that finding a hiding place proved impossible unless one jumped over the ravine. The best she could do was crouch low on the ground, praying to a god she no longer believed in that she could outlast the fight without a random kunai flying towards her direction.

To "protect the intel", Shiori had no choice but to keep her eyes glued on the death match. Even from afar, the sound of metal against flesh was unmistakable. She steeled herself against the dying's war cry. Later on she would think back in horror about that moment she had smiled when Kisame broke the arms of the shinobi who had dragged her earlier. The pain immobilized the Grass-nin, making him unable to dodge the Samehada as it swung his way. After taking a direct hit, his face and most of his chest were erased. All she could see was raw flesh and a flash of white where his teeth ought to be.

An ice cold sensation crept down her spine, a reminder of the kind of people these men had the potential to be. She may have warmed up to the Akatsuki duo throughout the long months but it didn't change one solid fact: Uchiha Itachi and Hoshikagi Kisame were killers and highly-efficient ones at that.

She quickly scanned the chaos and saw Itachi being singled out by about ten enemy shinobi. At first they ran in circles around him, perhaps to cause confusion. All of a sudden the men behind him jumped over his head, landing behind the men directly facing the dark-haired nin.

Shiori watched horrified as two of the Grass nins performed a jutsu she had never seen before. Jets of white, scalding steam steadily crawled from their mouths towards the spot where they had trapped him. Itachi stilled, his whole body relaxing as though in surrender. From afar, she began to panic. She didn't know how to help him. Was he really giving up?

All ten men shrieked in agony as black fire emerged from thin air and engulfed them. The sight was ghastly. Grown men whimpered like babies as flesh melted off of them in pungent heaps. And when there was no flesh left to burn, the black fire incinerated their bones.

Shiori had to shield her nose to stop herself from gagging at the smell. Despite the distance, the stench of death reached her and she just knew she could never look at fire the same way ever again.

With all men on the left side dead, Itachi stumbled away from the scene. He dragged his feet towards the ravine, pausing only to look at Shiori and changing his direction, this time towards her.

Even as she saw his right eye bleeding, the selfish part of her, the part that was the most reluctant to die barked at her to stay put. Meeting him halfway didn't seem worth it, not with kunais, shurikens, and jutsus flying in every direction.

A few yards away from her Itachi did something she had never seen him done before. He faltered. He dropped to his knees and cried out in pain. His left hand clawed at his cloak, like it was made of the black fire and it was burning him too.

"Itachi!" Shiori sprinted towards him, all thoughts of caution and survival thrown out the window. She dropped in front of him and helped him out of the heavy cloak, all the while being mindful to not touch him for she couldn't be bothered to do anything about her chakra amidst the chaos.

"What's wrong? What's the matter?" she asked, pausing when she noticed that his right eye was still bleeding. Thick blood streamed down his cheeks like red tears yet it didn't seem to bother him as much as whatever it was that was happening on his chest. She managed to wrestle him out of the cloak and so Shiori tugged his mesh shirt down to see if his chest was wounded.

"I...I don't get it. You're fine-"

She was cut off by Itachi's pained scream. She couldn't unhear the way his voice broke in agony as his left hand clutched on pale, uninjured skin. He doubled over until his forehead touched her knee and then he began coughing violently.

Panic bubbled at the pit of her stomach. She turned towards Kisame, hoping she could ask him for help. The swordsman was stuck in hand-to-hand combat against three armed Grass-nins and it looked as if it was going to be awhile before he fended them off. Feeling absolutely terrified and utterly useless, she did the only thing she could do. She clutched on to him as she burst in tears. It was all too much.

"We need to get out of here," she stammered, urging him to stand up. She propped him up on one knee and look around her one more time for any hiding place the barren land offered. She couldn't see one. What she did see were two Grass-nins speeding towards them.

"Get up!" she shrieked, tugging at him to stand or duck or whatever it was they had to do to stay alive. But with Itachi down and her terrified out of her wits, they were too slow.

Shiori couldn't think straight and this time went fully with her instincts. She crouched down and hugged him from behind, acting as a human shield between him and the enemies. In the time it took for her to cover him, Itachi managed to weave the seals to form a shadow clone. It stepped between Shiori and the attackers, fingers positioned at the ready for the one jutsu he could perform at a moment's notice.

"Fire style. Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Shiori gasped as intense heat radiated on her back. She turned around just in time to see the shadow clone disappear and for the two attacking shinobi to disintegrate inside the giant ball of fire. By the time it vanished, nothing was left of the men and a massive crater had appeared on the ground. All she could do was stare slack-jawed at the burnt earth. Just when she thought she had seen it all, life threw her another curveball right to the gut, knocking the breath and sense out of her. She was shaken out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of hands roughly shoving on her chest.

"Ouch! What the-" She paused abruptly as she locked gazes with a pair of angry-looking Sharingan. It was the first time she had seen Itachi become openly mad. For sure she must have gotten on his nerves in the past but he never showed it until that moment.

"Don't move a muscle," he instructed in a low voice, his words shaking with pent up anger. He didn't wait for an answer before running to Kisame's aid. Needless to say, Shiori did as she was told. Even with her back on the fight, she resisted the urge to look and sat frozen on the ground.

It didn't take long for the blue-skinned swordsman to deal the final death blow. The daimyo's brother remained silent as the Samehada ripped through his body. His corpse had not even hit the ground yet when Kisame ran a kunai through his neck. His head fell with a heavy thud before the missing-nin took it by the hair and shoved it inside a loin cloth bag.

"Orders are orders," Kisame explained when he saw the disapproving look Itachi threw at him. "I didn't go through all that trouble and risk not getting paid."

"..."

"What? If I didn't know any better I'd think someone managed to screw you while I wasn't looking."

"Something like that," Itachi said flatly. He left his perplexed partner without another word and marched towards the third living person within the vicinity. By then she had crouched low to the dusty ground in an attempt to become unnoticeable. Her back was hunched over, stiff and tense, unguarded and open much like it was merely minutes ago when...

Itachi momentarily let his anger get the best of him and roughly grabbed her by the shoulders. Shiori screamed when he spun her around and cried out in pain when his fingers dug bruises on her upper arms. The more she fought against him the tighter his grip became.

"Fool!" he spat, the three-fold tomoe of spinning rapidly around each iris. If he willed it, he had enough anger to easily awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. "What were you thinking?"

He gave her one big shake when she didn't reply. "What were you thinking?!"

"I wasn't!"

It was the truth. At that moment, a lie, no matter how convenient it would have been, was a luxury she couldn't afford, not in front of the raging Uchiha.

"I didn't- _couldn't_ think, I...I just did what I thought I had to do." Her confession turned her into an open book but by then she was too terrified to care. "Believe me-"

"Don't," he interrupted, shaking his his head. "Don't ever do that again." His voice was low and soft, so soft she could barely hear it amidst the blood raging in her ears. "Not for anybody's sake and most especially not for mine. Swear to me."

"I swear I won't," she replied shakily. "I swear I won't."

"Say it like you mean it."

"Why does it matter how I say it?"

"...It matters because you matter to me." He couldn't look at her in the eye when the words tumbled out of his mouth that way, turning him into the one thing he had been terrified of becoming: an open book.

* * *

Kisame knew all too well the importance of keeping a respectable distance from a fuming Itachi. And he had instructed the shaken Shiori to do the same with gestures using the same hand which held the final resting place of their target's head. The dark-haired shinobi had never appreciated being held at a distance more than he did at that moment. If one were to take a closer look at him, one would see that with his anger towards Shiori's recklessness was long gone. The rage that filled his eyes earlier were replaced by the unmistakable glint of fear.

Fear for his life and the disease that was slowly claiming it.

Fear for what nearly happened and the possibility of it happening again.

And most of all, fear that came with the realization of just how much the two of them were willing to risk for each other.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Just another run-of-mill attempt of Un-MarySuing. It's tricky, considering the circumstances but my goal had always been to create a character that acted the way any normal person would on a given situation. Itachi terrified me in this one. With stories involving a love interest for this guy writers are always tasked with making him walk a very VERY fine line between in-character and OOC. I mean...it's chapter god-knows-what and the thing between the two needs to start moving... I guess. I've been chilling on the past chapters because I know you can't rush it with Itachi. It would be too weird. Now...now it's time to work...I think.

His confession nearly stumped me. Honestly, how to make this guy verbalize his feelings...it's like asking yourself how to ride a unicycle. I'm blabbing now. Time to go. Please leave a review.

 **kale** : thanks oh so much for the review. It's not everyday I get something as detailed as that so when I do I become a very happy camper. As for the "-chan" "-kun" thing with Kisame you're right about that. I heard it's a way of mocking someone when you call a grown man/woman '-chan' and that's what I thought of when I started the thing...it just stuck. =) And of course Itachi has done the deed. I wouldn't believe anyone who would tell me otherwise. XDD He's the definition of "precocious".


	16. No Holding Back

Kisame could tell that Itachi was considerably weakened by the fight. Not wanting to risk the chance of exposing a vulnerable comrade to unexpected attacks, the blue-skinned swordsman offered to collect the mission fee by himself, to which Itachi quickly agreed to. Him and Shiori were instructed to wait in a small minshuku located in the outskirts of Earth Country. Kisame and Shiori shared the more spacious room while Itachi had a cramped room to himself.

"You wouldn't want to be in the same room with him when he's being grumpy," Kisame explained to the younger ward. "Neither do I."

* * *

In the privacy of his room, Itachi felt safe enough to lay out the numerous bottles and pouches holding his medications on the cool surface of the tatami mats. There was one for every ailment he could think of. If there had been a lottery that gave away diseases instead of cash, one would think that the nineteen-year old won the jackpot. Itachi sighed as he took one of the bottles and rolled it in his palm. The familiar click of pills against glass usually gave him reassurance. That night, it gave none of that. He knew why the pain had reached unbearable intensity when he used the Mangekyo Sharingan earlier that day. The current doses of his meds were no longer enough to keep the symptoms of his sickness at bay. He needed stronger doses. This wouldn't have bothered him that much if it wasn't for the fact that Sora had increased the strength of his pills only a few months ago. The aging medic-nin never told him the implications of this but Itachi knew well enough. He could only take so much drugs before the substances turned against him.

The presence of a familiar chakra hovering outside his door caused him to look up. He narrowed his eyes at the untouched panel before quickly shoving his secret stash in his bag. He waited for Shiori to gather enough courage to knock. The minutes ticked by and all the girl seemed to do was stand there. Once, she made a move to walk away but swiftly changed her mind and went back to her spot outside his room. Itachi sighed in exasperation.

"How long do you plan on standing there?" He called out. "Come in."

He stood up just as she opened the sliding door and slipped inside his small sleeping quarters. The shorter girl looked up to him and was greeted with his signature Uchiha frown.

"You're slacking on your chakra control." His statement had an accusatory tone in it that made her feel guilty.

"I am, aren't I?" Shiori murmured bashfully.

A long stretch of silence ran between the both of them, long enough for the two to notice the toll that the day's mission took on each other. Shiori had dark circles under her eyes while Itachi looked sickly pale. Both looked equally haunted.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, breaking the deafening spell.

Shiori stepped closer to him as she replied, gray eyes never leaving his dark ones. "I don't know Itachi. You tell me." When he refused to answer, she added, "You're sick. And I'm not talking about being temporarily under the weather. Whatever it is, you've had it for a while and it's not going anywhere."

Itachi remained stoic. "You sound so sure of yourself, considering all you have are assumptions."

"I may be a civilian and I may not know the first thing about ninjutsu but I'm not an idiot. Besides, everyone knows that chest pains aren't good...neither are fainting spells."

"I'm fine - "

"Itachi - "

"- and even if I'm not, my personal affairs do not concern you."

Shiori chuckled mirthlessly, letting her gaze fall to the mats. "See that's where you're wrong. Of course they concern me because those _personal affairs_ scare the hell out of me. They concern me because whether you like it or not, I'm obliged to look after you. That's what being in a team is all about."

"Kisame and I make up the team," Itachi scoffed. "You're just a ward. Don't forget your place in the hierarchy."

She swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth before replying, "Look, I haven't forgotten _what_ I am to the Akatsuki but that's the least of my concerns right now. Uchiha Itachi, you can't expect me to just stand and watch - "

"Shiori - " he warned.

"- because you matter to me too!"

Itachi cursed inwardly. He couldn't help but think that perhaps his tactless declaration from earlier lured her into saying something so reckless. Had she forgotten who he was and what he had done? The possibility made him hate himself. He hated himself more when he realized that he was blushing. He was used to being in control and now he was anything but.

"Please. I'm begging you. Tell me what's wrong so that I can at least try to help you."

Instincts kicked in and the shinobi did what he did best. He lied.

"I don't want your help," he spat back, voice rising as the two stood nose to nose with each other. "Don't think for one second that you know how to fix me just because you had a glimpse inside my head. From the beginning you've been nothing but dead weight, an inconvenience I do not need. I've been struggling to make our circumstances tolerable so please, don't be more of a burden than you already are."

The words hit home for Shiori and all she could do was stand in place as Itachi made a move to unpack the rest of his belongings. He needed to do something, anything other than see the look on her face. He had wanted to chase her away with his words and he realized that he did it too well. He might as well have slapped her.

When he couldn't ignore her any longer, he stood up from where he was crouching on the floor, their backs against each other.

"You can't handle the truth. So don't go around snooping about things that could break you."

His words woke up something in Shiori and it made her ears burn. "Now who's the one with all the assumptions? Don't mess with my mind, not when you're the one who can't handle the truth." She turned around to face him, a subtle act of defiance. Itachi turned to match her glare with his own.

"Hn. And what is this truth?"

"That you're a deluded, arrogant... _jerk_." She dared him to challenge her words. When he didn't say anything, she continued, "I didn't know how you did it but you've managed to fool yourself into thinking that you got everything figured out. You think you're a couple of steps ahead of everybody, don't you? Well you're not. We're all in the same Hell, Itachi. You're smart but you're just as screwed as everyone else. You wanna remain alone and miserable, then fine. Suit yourself."

He could've killed her then and there. He could've punched a hole through her chest. he could've trapped her in an eternal genjutsu. Shiori knew all these were possible. So before he could decide to do any of those things, she turned tail and hurried out of the room.

* * *

They didn't speak to each other after their no-holds-barred banter. Even Kisame noticed the tension between the two and grew resentful at Shiori for making his partner grumpier than ever. As payback, the duo often left her at the mercy of Zetsu, who tormented her with his curiosity for the taste of human flesh and his obsession with poop. Other days, she was stuck with Hidan and Kakuzu, even on missions that didn't require her ability. On these odd circumstances, Kakuzu gave her the task of haggling for food and weapons. Hidan, on the other hand, constantly attempted to convert her into a Jashinist on the first few days. Once, after the immortal psychopath concluded that she was unworthy of his religion, their conversation led to a very awkward topic.

"So neither of them tried to sleep with you? Not even once?"

Shiori imagined the gigantic Kisame giving her the come hither look, only to run away when she tried to touch him. The mental image made her chuckle.

"That's hardly necessary, Hidan-san. You all are paid enough to be able to sleep with whoever you like."

They were in the Akatsuki headquarters in Takigakure, polishing kunais and shurikens in preparation for an ambush mission. Kakuzu locked himself in his room while counting the ryos the organization had earned for that month.

"You have a point," Hidan replied, piling his shurikens in a neat column. "It would be a waste of hard-earned money if I gotta pay to fuck you."

Shiori shrugged. "I'm not your type. I get it."

"But I was pretty certain Itachi-kun would at least try to. You seem like his type."

Shiori took a kunai and sharpened it on a whetstone. "You guessed wrong."

"Well shit," Hidan replied wryly. "I've been told I'm quite a good guesser."

* * *

Itachi proved he could excel at keeping grudges and ignored her as the weeks dragged on. Kisame now found the whole situation entertaining and continuously egged the young shinobi on bullying his ward. They only stopped after a botched mission with Hidan and Kakuzu left her in a catatonic state from being trapped in a genjutsu. Itachi had no choice but to release her. His first word at the shaken Shiori after two months of giving her the cold shoulder had been a very intense, very loud, "fool". She kept her hateful facade but on the inside, she couldn't deny the fact that she was glad.

Even after they resumed being civil with each other, their conversation from that night was not brought up over the course of several missions. Still, the words stayed with Itachi, mulling inside him, throbbing and stinging with their truthfulness even as he tried to ignore them. He didn't want to admit it but it made him realize one thing: Shiori saw through his smoke and mirrors and it wasn't because she saw his memories. Anyone could have done the same mental invasion to him and yet only a few if anyone at all could come to the same conclusion she did. Sotome Shiori saw him for what he was and she did so without the use of any jutsu. In his book, that was enough to make her formidable.

* * *

Despite the advanced ranks of the shinobi involved, rarely does a mission go as smoothly as planned. Not every single factor can be accounted for. Hence, despite a mission's success, one could say that the shinobi's struggle was real in achieving such victory. That day's mission was not an exception.

Blood had been spilled. A handful of jonins fell under the Samehada's blade and the Sharingan's prowess. The high-ranking target had been assassinated. It was a win for the Akatsuki but one that caused Kisame and Itachi a couple of blows to their flesh and bones.

Iwagakure was in uproar upon realizing that the criminal organization had infiltrated their walls. The duo had no choice but to go underground and hide while they waited for the mania to subside. With Konan's help, they found tunnels disguised as sewers which ran underneath the hidden village. These passageways led to an exit situated on floor hatch of a safe house in a small town in Earth Country. Shiori was at the exit, acting as a lookout just as the kunoichi ordered her to do. Once they deemed the coast clear, Konan exited in an explosion of paper cranes. In this case, all S-nins agreed that the immediate relaying of intel gathered from Shiori's reading that morning held more importance than tending to the flesh wounds of the two shinobi.

When the last paper crane disappeared from sight, Shiori's gaze landed on duo. Though both looked well enough to live another day, they also looked as if they had been put through the wringer.

"You guys look terrible," she pointed out. "Need a hand?"

Kisame and Itachi exchanged looks before the former replied.

"I'm still not above killing you if you touch me with your skin." The swordsman whipped off his top, exposing a back full of deep, angry-looking gashes. He collapsed on one of the kneeling pillows as he waited for Shiori to tend to his wounds. The dark-haired girl turned to Itachi, frowning when she noticed patches of skin peeling off his soot-filled cheeks.

"A water-style jutsu collided with my Fireball Technique," he explained, feeling self-conscious under Shiori's gaze. "It's nothing serious. Go tend Kisame-san first."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

They didn't speak to each other again until a few hours after, when Kisame was fast asleep on the dining table, knocked off by the painkillers he had taken earlier. Shiori was nearly done with Itachi as well and was already putting on strips of plaster on each of his cheeks to prevent the burn creams from drying out. The whole time, the air between the two of them was thick with tension. Itachi's dark eyes never left her since she started working on him. It was all she could do not to let her hands shake.

"What are you up to now, Shiori?" Itachi blurted out, his deep voice echoing in the quiet wooden walls.

Shiori paused, removing her gloved hands from his cheek. "I'm not sure what you mean by that. But I'm only doing this 'cause I'm bored."

"After all those things I called you, why are you still doing this for me?"

Shiori chuckled at this. Despite his intelligence, she couldn't help but notice that his never ending curiosity sometimes made him sound as though he was five.

 _Because you matter to me._

"Who knows? Don't think about it too much though. I'm human. Every once in a while I'm bound to do things that do not make sense."

* * *

In the dead of the night, Shiori entered the ward's quarters and was surprised to see Itachi on one of its corners. His face was a blank canvas save for the two strips of plaster on his cheeks. However, that wasn't what bothered her. It was the way he held himself, the way he looked like he might jump at her at any second.

Shiori closed the door behind her and the two stared at each other. In the silence, Itachi sauntered across the room until he was standing right in front of her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I still couldn't stop thinking about what you said to me that night."

"Yeah well...me too." She looked up at him and added, "My offer still stands. When you're ready, you can tell me everything."

"I can't." His reply was so soft that it could have been a mere whisper. "All those things you want to know, if I put them into words then I won't be telling you the whole story."

"I see," she murmured, eyes downcast once again, a pang of selfish disappointment weighing heavily on her chest. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she noticed him further closing the small gap between the two of them. Gray met onyx.

"I can't tell you. But I can show you."

He lowered his head until there was less than an inch between them. Her warm chakra enveloped him, strengthening his resolve to do one of the most selfish things he will do in his lifetime. When he heard her gasp sharply, he knew there was no turning back. He couldn't, not anymore.

"Don't hold back."

And with his request hanging in the air, Uchiha Itachi swooped down and captured Shiori's lips with his.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Had to cut this chapter into two because it is quite long (and I'm in a bit of a lazy mood since after going on holiday). Hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you enjoyed it very much please do leave a review. If not, leave a review anyway. You know me, I love hearing from you. For those who already left messages and revs thank you oh so much. You guys are my motivation in continuing this piece. We writers always love hearing from you because it's proof that somebody somewhere is actually taking time to check the story that we have to tell. Till next time. - freedwinner28


	17. Human

It looked like a full-length movie playing in front of her in fast forward. And yet like all the readings she had done, it was more than just his memories. These were his thoughts, his feelings, the inner workings of his mind all laid out in front of her to see. Outside of his memories, she could feel his fingers running through her hair before he deepened the kiss. A burst of white exploded behind her eyelids.

Itachi could tell that she was already lost to the world. He shuddered as the cold feeling of helplessness came over him. That was it. There was no going back. Once she came around, he was going to find out whether or not he had been right to doubt her. An unfavorable result did not warrant a do-over, not with something as all-consuming as this. He maintained skin contact as the reading went on, alternating between cupping her cheeks with his hands as he stared at her and pressing his lips against hers. Both intimate acts he did with reverence and fervor because he was half-convinced that he would never be able to do it again. His history was bloody and morally questionable, even that of shinobi standards. And there was the issue with his condition, its impact on his life and the choices he had made because of it. In a few minutes, she was going to find out and decide whether she walks away or stays.

His last memory was of her looking up at him with a shocked look on her face before he uttered the words which served as his consent: _Don't hold back._ Gray eyes fluttered open and she found herself back in her dark quarters. Her chest thumped wildly as her body struggled to come to terms with what her mind had just unearthed. Itachi had stepped back. His head was down, his black hair turning into a curtain that covered his face. For a minute, all Shiori could do was stare at him. His memories from sixteen years ago echoed in her mind, of a three-year-old hearing the words "congenital anomaly" for the first time.

Without a sound, she stepped towards him and rested her ear against his chest, the way Uchiha Mikoto did when she first found out about the silent disease that was threatening to cut her firstborn's life short. Instead of hearing the _lub_ and _dub_ of a healthy heart, all she heard was a machine-like murmur punctuated by a series of harsh swishes which sounded nowhere near normal.

 _"A hole in the heart where there shouldn't be..."_

 _"Blood flooding back to the lungs..."_

 _"...might live past twenty."_

Shiori shivered and squeezed her eyes shut. How could he hide something like this to everyone? To Izumi, Shisui...even Sasuke?

Itachi felt compelled to say something. "Sora-san is providing me with the best medications for this condition."

She knew that. She also knew about the medic-nin's word of caution regarding his frequent use of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

 _"At the rate that you're using it, you'd be lucky if you go blind first before it stops your heart from beating."_

The Amaterasu from that day in Grass Country and the pain that he experienced after that jutsu...everything was clicking into place like puzzle pieces. However, the big picture that it showed terrified her.

She clutched the hem of his mesh shirt to stop her hands from shaking. But there was nothing she could do about the tears spilling down her face. For a moment, Itachi regretted his decision to open up to her. Though Shiori asked him to, he thought he should have known better. He had too many demons, enough to drive an average person over the edge. And he had just dumped all of them on the unsuspecting girl's lap. He thought worriedly that perhaps he had overestimated her strength.

When Shiori got her shaking under control and when she was sure that she wasn't going to turn into a bawling fool when she opened her mouth, she finally spoke up.

"How long do you think you have?"

"Not long."

"How _long_ do you think you _have_?" she asked again through the tears.

"Five years at most. It all depends on Sasuke."

Uchiha Sasuke. The person whose hands he had chosen to die under as atonement for his sins to their fallen clan. As soon as he mentioned his otouto's nam, she knew that the time he had left was going to be considerably shorter than it already was. Any Uchiha worth the crest on his back was capable of rapidly rising to power. If Sasuke was anything like his brother, then it was only a matter of time before he deemed him ready. Itachi was practically a dead man walking.

Biting her lip raw, she lifted her fists and threw slow, weak punches at his chest.

"I could never understand you shinobi," she whispered in between hiccups. "Why? Why are you all so eager to throw your lives away? Don't you ever think about the people you will be leaving behind? Huh? Why are you all so fucking excited to die when...when all we ever want is for you to stay?"

Gray eyes glared up at him. "You...suicidal...idiot."

Something snapped inside her and keeping herself together was no longer an option. She had reached her limit and there was nothing left to do but fall apart.

Itachi took her by the arms in an attempt to calm her down. "Shiori - "

"I don't want you to die!" she shouted, her tone becoming more and more hysterical. "I don't want you to die-there has to be another way! Not you Itachi, please...please..."

He enveloped her into a bone-crushing hug, partly to stop her wailing from becoming loud enough to wake Kisame up. Mostly it was to keep her pieces together while she crumbled, grieving for him in a way that even he could not do for himself.

* * *

In the wee hours of morning, when the tears subsided into quiet hiccups, the two of them collapsed on the lone futon in the small room. They lay side-by-side, perpendicular to the single-sized mattress with only their upper bodies on it. Their waists and legs rested on the cold tatami mats. Both of them looked like they had seen better days. Shiori's eyes were bloodshot and her nose was pink from all the crying. Itachi looked forlorn for once. He slowly turned to look at her.

"Do you regret knowing?" he asked. He had to find out sooner or later.

Shiori was quick to respond with a shake of her head. "No. I do regret not meeting you sooner...under different circumstances. I regret the fact that I spent so much time butting heads with you."

"But I enjoy butting heads with you," Itachi replied quietly, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"What?"

"You're quite entertaining when you lose."

Also, ever since Shisui passed away, there was nobody else who would engage him in a verbal sparring that didn't culminate into kunais being thrown.

He noted that Shiori's chakra was controlled and didn't think twice about grabbing her hand. He ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"All those decisions you made at thirteen," she mumbled. "Do you ever regret doing them?"

He shrugged, eyes trained at the cracked ceiling above them.

"Sometimes. Though I know that at the end of the day, I am still Itachi of Konohagakure. I'll do anything for my village, even if it means living in the shadows for the rest of my life."

Shiori smiled sadly at him. "I believe you."

"I apologize for sharing my burdens with you. I'm beginning to doubt that I did the right thing."

She turned to her side to look at him, snatching her hand from his grasp so that she could place it under her head as a makeshift pillow.

"Don't think that your little stunt changes anything. I'm not going back on my word from that night. You have me."

For Itachi, her promise brought an unfamiliar yet pleasant feeling. It was the light feeling of loneliness slowly ebbing away from his rotten heart. After years of walking down the wretched path he had chosen for himself, he didn't feel alone anymore. And despite what logic was telling him, he welcomed it.

"I believe you."

* * *

It was early sunrise when Itachi woke up. The emotional catharsis that they experienced hours ago had left the both of them exhausted. He didn't even remember falling asleep. However, a new day was about to start. He knew Kisame was still out of it but with the sun steadily making itself known in the horizon, it wouldn't be long before his partner came around. Facades had to be put up once again.

After stretching on his spot, he rolled to his side to look at Shiori. She was still in deep sleep, unaware that she had an audience. He had to admit, he was impressed at how someone as physically vulnerable as her could possess so much inner strength. The fact that she had coped with being in the presence of hardened criminals for over a year was a feat in itself. Last night's revelations just made her prove to him that she could handle so much more.

In sleep she looked peaceful, free from the worries and fears that plagued her constantly in her waking hours. Peace suited her. Unable to stop himself, he planted a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you," he whispered to her.

Shiori barely stirred.

* * *

She had heard of his disease from his memories, saw the look on Sora's face when she had told him that the end was near, even drowned with him during those moments when his sickness struck him hard. And yet, Shiori had a hard time believing that it was happening.

"Dying" wasn't a word that you associate with someone like Itachi. He was nearly untouchable in the battlefield. He was the best of his generation.

'And for Kami's sake he is unbelievably kind,' she would find herself thinking. She had seen enough to know that he was like that towards everyone, including Deidara.

 _Why do the good ones always die first?_

Like all of their more intimate encounters, the night that she read Uchiha Itachi for the second time was never spoken of ever again, even between the two of them. It was business as usual for the S-ranked shinobi and his freak of nature ward. He went to do his assignments with Kisame while she jumped between pairs within the organization. They wouldn't see each other for weeks and when they did, it was often filled with lukewarm greetings and forced nonchalance, particularly in the presence of the shark-like swordsman. To an outsider, things were the same within their group. The impact of Itachi's revelation was only obvious to the two of them.

He became more playful in the most covert way possible. He had developed a rather amusing habit of winking at her whenever Kisame wasn't looking, sometimes even in the middle of missions, Sharingan and all, something which Shiori thought bordered on recklessness. Other times he would tug at her ponytail using a sleight of hand, all the while maintaining a well-practiced poker face under his straw hat.

"What are you five?" she mocked him every time he did it. And every time she asked, his only reply would be to puff his left cheek.

Contrary to Itachi's playfulness, Shiori became the personification of gloom. Everything made her cry. The mere mention of the Uchiha would send her into a depressive spell. Thoughts of death plagued her and those thoughts brought with them a loneliness that weighed down on her shoulders.

'So Itachi lives until Sasuke becomes powerful enough and then what, Shiori? What's the end game in store for you?'

She had no idea. She couldn't get herself to think past the part where Itachi dies.

She was in this very mood when he found her sulking by herself during the annual Floating Lantern Festival of Yugakure. Shiori had to do a double take when she first saw him. In a dark blue kimono and without his hitai-ate on, Itachi could pass as an everyday civilian. This was in compliance of Konan's condition that him and all other nins stationed near the village were to remain unrecognizable while they enjoyed the festivities.

"I barely recognize you," she mumbled in greeting.

"That was the plan," he replied, plopping down beside her.

They were on top of a hill overlooking the village's Kibo River. Dots of orange lights began to hover on its inky surface, signalling the start of the lantern-sending ceremony. Shiori tried to discreetly wipe her eyes dry but her sniffles gave her away. Itachi feigned indifference, training his gaze at the floating lanterns below them, even though from where he sat, they all blurred into one unattractive orange blob.

"I'm not dead yet," he said after a long pause. "Don't be too quick to grieve for me."

"Who says I'm grieving for you?"

"So you're not?"

"Ugh! Stop!" she bit back, annoyed at how easy it was for him to talk about himself and death in the same breath. "You matter to me, Itachi. And I feel honored that you found me worthy to know about your story but...I can't take all of this in stride and act like things are going to be okay because we both know that they're not. It's never going to be okay with you dead. You may have made your peace with that but I haven't so...sorry if I'm more than a little sad nowadays."

She bit her lip and looked away from him as a few tears escaped her once again. Itachi remained patient, calmly giving her time to gain her composure before he spoke.

"We often worry too much about what the future could bring that we lose touch of the present. I know it's hard but I'm asking you not to do this Shiori. Don't lose your touch of the present."

He made a move to hold her hand, pausing for a minute to let her deal with her chakra before he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Because it's the only thing I can give you," he added.

Shiori squeezed his hand in reply. Itachi was a man of few words. But the words he did say often carried a lot of weight.

"Thank you."

Over the next half hour, the two watched silently as more lanterns appeared on the river until it became a steady stream of flames. They communicated mainly through nudges and sideway glances. All the while, he never let go of her hand. When she tried to pull it away from him, he tugged it back towards him. Finally, he broke the silence between them.

"You're still slow on starting your chakra control but I'm glad you've mastered it."

"It only took sixty-four months."

"More like eight. As your teacher, I think it's only proper that I treat you to dinner some time. For a job well done."

Despite the weight on her chest, Shiori couldn't stop the sly smile spreading across her lips. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

His reply was a wide grin which lit up his boyish features. Everything was still wrong with the world but for once she let it go and had a good laugh.

"Smooth. Real smooth, _sensei_."

* * *

The festival was coming to an end when they both decided to make their way back to the headquarters. Kisame was still occupied and was bent on enjoying his day off up its very last minute so they went ahead without him. In a quiet bend on the lone road leading back to the hold temple, with only the stars as their witnesses, he leaned down and kissed her once again. It was gentler than the first one, nowhere near as desperate as its predecessor but it still spoke of everything that Itachi could not put into words.

That he wanted this.

He wanted her.

Forget the consequences.

He allowed himself to be selfish for once. His whole life he had put others' needs above his. Every action was for the sake of someone or something else. This time he wanted to pour himself into something for his own sake and no one else's. He kissed her because he wanted her to know that he was in love. And he'd be damned if he denied the giddy feeling in his belly when she kissed him back. He caressed her to quench the thirst that he had suffered from for so long, one that none of the other women he had laid with could chase away. He wanted her to be his and his only the same way he wanted her to claim him as hers despite who he was and the things he had done. For the first time in his life, Uchiha Itachi was love drunk. And he couldn't bring himself to care how this made him look like.

As the two fell into a warm embrace and the kiss grew deeper, Sora's warning began to echo in his head. The feeling of her hand slipping into his kimono and onto the skin of his chest made it possible to ignore this.

He was allowed to be foolish, wasn't he? After all, he was human too.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Thank you for reading! For those who have been following this fic, my apologies for the late update. I've been working on a tight schedule for the past week or so, so extra time is limited. Again I would like to thank you all for stopping by, with special mention to reviewers **Kale** , **RIP, Richasa,** and **ShawneeSavage**. Thanks for the long revs guys! And for pointing out what's what with what I have here...if that makes sense.

So! As usual, the challenge here is upping Itachi's emotional responses without making him _too_ OOC. It sounds difficult already when you put it into words and believe me it is. Striking the right balance between his aloofness and playfulness (I always thought Itachi was a closet prankster for some reason based on his interactions with Sasuke) is hard for me personally. I treat him as someone who's emotionally constipated. We all know that one person who looks like he/she has a pipe up his/her ass at first but turned out to be a total goofball when you finally made them open up. Welp, I think Itachi is like that too. Took a lot of trial and error and this was the best I could come up with. And also, if you notice in the anime he sounds weird in the moments when he REALLY starts talking. You don't believe me, have a look at the episodes featuring talking Itachi. I wanted to put a bit of that in here as well. This was one of the most difficult chapters that I had to churn out, not just for this story but for all the stories I've managed to finish. So naturally it would mean a lot if I get an honest opinion on this. Concrit, if I'm being ambitious. Anyways, no pressure. As long as you enjoyed this bit, I'm happy too.


	18. Reality

That was the third time that the young woman walked past their table. Kisame could see the look of confusion and hurt etched in her delicate features. He glanced back at the shinobi sitting across him who looked content sipping on his tea and quietly chewing on his dango. She gave them one last wounded glare before disappearing into the kitchen.

Kisame recognized the brunette, though he had never gotten around to knowing her name. The manager had mentioned to them once that the young beauty worked in the tea shop as a part-time waitress. She always managed to pop up whenever they happened to operate on missions in Jomae Village. Then as soon as she appeared, she would vanish right around the same time Itachi would excuse himself. To attend to what, he never told the blue-skinned swordsman, only that he wouldn't be back for the next few hours. During these times, Kisame would entertain himself by visiting his own set of _acquaintances_. True to his word, Itachi would reappear after a reasonable amount of time. Right on his heels would be the brunette, her hair neatly re-done and her clothes slightly wrinkled. It was a scene Kisame was all too familiar with and it was an experience he wouldn't dare take away from the younger man. It served as a reminder that despite growing up too fast, the prodigy still had his moments of normalcy.

None of the events he had anticipated happened that day. They left the tea shop without Itachi giving her anything beyond a very polite nod.

"That was the third girl who threw herself at you and that was the third girl you've shrugged off. What gives, Itachi-san?"

They were on the road, making their way back to the headquarters on the outskirts of the Land of Hot Water.

Itachi made a disapproving sound before he replied. "Can't be bothered."

"You're barely twenty years old. You can't expect me to buy that foolishness."

"..."

Kisame chuckled at the younger shinobi's reluctance in approaching the subject. It wasn't a secret that Itachi _entertained_ a few of the women who fought for his attention. The Uchiha was unusually attractive for someone who was highly introverted. He was also a hot-blooded male who wasn't exempted from certain urges. It was the perfect recipe to get laid and he capitalized that fact whenever it was convenient.

'Until now,' Kisame thought, getting more curious the more Itachi kept mum.

"Look, if - Kami forbid - you decided to commit to one of those girls and you're worried about her finding out, I'm telling you not to be. I got your back," the swordsman said. He waited for his partner to look at him before adding, "We're shinobi. Most of us are destined to live short lives. Might as well enjoy it."

"Thank you, Kisame-san," Itachi replied with a quick nod.

"So who is it? It's that redhead from Yugakure, isn't it?"

"Hn."

* * *

Ever since that night, there hadn't been a day when Shiori woke up without that kiss replaying in her mind. Everything about it remained so vivid even as the days went by. She could clearly remember how he started it, slowly and almost tentatively, only for it to grow deeper and surer. His lips were dry and chapped in some places yet these imperfections made him all the more irresistible. Before she could change her mind, she stole a quick nip of his lower lip. The smile that followed it had been priceless. She felt it with her own mouth, spreading across his face even as their tongues fought playfully for domination. It was one of her most treasured memories of him for he had never looked so happy and carefree as he did that night.

But as the minutes ticked away and sleep slowly left her along with the orange hue of sunrise, their reality would come to mind. Realizations would hit her, forcing her to keep the memory of that perfect moment in the recesses of her mind. Shiori may be clumsy but she wasn't naive. Loving Uchiha Itachi was something she could never express in the open. They both knew that. Too many lives were at stake, theirs included. She was bound to the Akatsuki as its subject. He needed the Akatsuki to survive until Sasuke was ready. Working within the organization meant walking among sadists and sociopaths who wouldn't think twice about turning against their allies at the first sign of weakness they spot. Maintaining a professional, even hateful front was a means of survival.

Her only consolation was that Itachi did most of the acting for her. He was an excellent liar who had mastered the art of maintaining a constant poker face. His stoic and nonchalant act was so convincing that even Shiori sometimes found herself believing that it was real.

"Remember," he would say to her in moments when his icy demeanor would get under her skin. And then he would look at her and she would understand.

Another memory would come to mind, one that came later that night when their urge to kiss each other silly had been satiated and he had to catch his breath while resting his forehead against hers.

"Remember this moment," he told her. "In times when it's impossible for me to bare my soul to you, try to remember this."

"You say that as if you know that you're bound to hurt me one of these days," she had jokingly replied, even though her words had never sounded truer.

His smile turned sad. Shiori chuckled at him.

"It's our reality, Itachi."

He placed a hand under her chin and gently tilted her head up so she could meet his gaze.

"It's part of our reality but so is this. This is real too. That's what I want you to remember."

* * *

Shiori had been in Yugakure's market, ticking off the last items in her grocery list when an all too familiar raven-haired shinobi appeared in front of her. She had been so startled that she screamed bloody murder in the middle of the busy streets, turning heads and invoking suspicious stares aimed at her and Itachi. Luckily, most of his face had been hidden under his straw hat.

"You're overreacting," he stated flatly.

"You _obviously_ have no idea how scary you can be."

Itachi didn't reply. Instead, he took the two full baskets from her hands and motioned at her to follow him towards the gates.

"Why are you doing the groceries?" he asked. Wards weren't obliged to do errands outside of their missions. Though many of the handlers bent this rule to cut corners, he had no intention of doing the same thing to Shiori.

"Fudo is sick," she replied, all the while trying to maintain a respectable distance between the two of them. "He caught the flu that has been going around the village since the rainy season started. So I told him to take it easy for the next few days while I'm still free."

"I'm surprised he didn't put up a fight," he said, giving her a sideway glance.

"He did. But I won."

"Hn."

Itachi took an unexpected turn into one of the village's alleys a few yards away from the gates. Shiori, though confused, followed him. He had pulled his straw hat down, revealing a rather amusing glint in his obsidian eyes. Shiori narrowed her gray ones at him.

"When are you expected back in the temple?" he asked.

She shrugged, "After doing the groceries. Before sunset maybe?"

He smiled at her. "We still have time."

Without another word, he lifted her off her feet and the two vanished into the trees above them. Itachi hopped from one branch to another with chakra-induced speed until they reached a clearing in the woods beside the quiet road leading to the old monks' temple.

"Itachi, you know I trust you with my life and all but what in the name of Kami are we doing here?"

Shiori blinked a few times. Her head was still spinning from being unceremoniously swept off of her feet.

"You'll see," he replied, setting the groceries on the grass as he walked over to the what looked like an old forgotten pond. Its stony borders were crumbling and were covered with spider webs and rotting leaves.

"I found this just recently when I was training. I don't think anyone knows about this place."

Shiori walked over to him. Without eyes nearby, she was finally confident enough to rub elbows with him. She gazed at the murky body of water. Algae had turned it into a brownish-green color.

"Looks...depressing."

Itachi looked at the sky above them. "It will be sunset in a few minutes."

"Exactly. We need to head back."

"Don't be a wet blanket."

She felt a sharp jab on her ribs, which took her by surprise. She gaped at him. The young man beside her had not acted this playful since his otouto was still a young school boy.

"Who are you and what have you done to Itachi?"

Itachi merely gave her his signature smirk before nodding towards the pond. What Shiori saw next made her gasp. As darkness fell over the woods, hundreds of pulsating dots of light appeared in the water's surface. They floated lazily on it, not unlike the lanterns on Kibo River during the village festival some months ago.

"Wow," she sighed, unable to stop the childlike grin on her face. "This is awesome."

"Watch this." He bent down to retrieve a tiny pebble. Then he tossed it on the pond, causing ripples on its stagnant water.

The lights exploded into a flurry of motion. Many took flight and began dancing in the air around them.

"Oh, they're fireflies!" Shiori exclaimed as the cloud of blinking lights started to surround them. It was one of the most beautiful scenes she had witnessed, something she had never expected to encounter at this point in her life, all circumstances considered.

She cupped her hands together and held them out until one dainty firefly slowly floated away from its group and descended on her upturned palms. It stayed there for a few moments, tickling her as it crawled from one hand to another. Not wanting to isolate it for too long, she uncurled her fingers and gently tossed her hands up. Shiori let out an amused laugh as the firefly joined its friends, disappearing and becoming a part of the surreal scene surrounding them.

A strong pair of arms wrapped around her belly and she felt Itachi against her back, enveloping her in a warm hug. His scent made her giddy, making her want to press more on to him. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"The world can be a noisy place to live in. All the fighting makes it worse. So I was more than thankful when I found this spot. Everyone here is at peace with everybody else."

The fact that he could no longer see the fireflies individually made him realize this. In his deteriorating eyes, they were one body moving harmoniously from one place to another.

Shiori held on to his arms before shifting her head to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for this," she whispered. "I feel like I'm in a dream."

Itachi shook his head. "Just because its beautiful doesn't mean it's not real."

There was a long pause before she spoke up once again.

"I want you to remember this, Itachi. In times when the world gets so bad. Or when you fall so deep into yourself that I can't get to you anymore. You have this place and this moment and these are things that can never be taken away from you."

This time he smiled and hugged her tighter.

"I will."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hope you all enjoyed this bit. First off I'd like to apologize for the late update. I've been busily adulting these past couple of weeks hence I haven't had a lot of "me time"...which is something I need in large doses in order to write.

The next couple of chapters are within the timeline of what I like to call as "The Lost Years". Post orange-jumpsuit-Naruto era and pre-Shippuden. For those who are huge fans of canon (who are reading this fanfiction ironically), please bear with me. I do intend to follow the events of canon as much as possible. But of course we also need to tackle wth is happening with these two within those years.

And re: Itachi's unusual attitude, it's just my depiction of how he is when he's in love. I don't think anyone has even seen him head over heels with someone (other than Sasuke and dango) so technically, this side of Itachi is fair game. I did try to keep his usual stoic demeanor whenever possible so hopefully that makes up for everything.

Itachi's speeech. Admit it. He has a weird way of talking. Kind of like an old soul stuck in a young (and highly attractive) body. I think its an interesting peculiarity of his in the anime and manga and it's something I really want to incorporate in this piece. I'm no old soul so hopefully the attempt wasn't too bad.

Anyhoo, you guys know what I want. A review would be great. For those who have reviewed (esp. those who have left long ones...I know they can be quite taxing to write) THANK YOU VERY MUCH! You always make my day whenever you review. Your reviews are the only payback I receive for this piece so they mean quite a LOT to me. Hope to update sooner rather than later. Love you all.


	19. The Betrothed

"The jinchuuriki of the five-tails is planning to head south to Ishigakure. I've relayed the intel to Sasori-san who has informed Konan-san. She and Pain-sama are the ones nearest to him so I'm guessing they will be the ones going after him."

Shiori was in the dining area of the Hot Water Headquarters with her handler, Uchiha Itachi. Merely half an hour ago, she had been handed over by Sasori and Deidara. The trio were caught in a storm a kilometer away from their destination. Hence, they arrived at the doorsteps of the old monk's temple soaked to the bone and shivering from head to foot. After taking a detailed report from Sasori, Itachi had ushered his freezing ward into the warmest room in the building for a thick blanket and a cup of piping hot tea.

While Itachi already knew every detail of the mission, they decided to follow the routine anyway and made her relay her own report to him. It was one of the ways that they kept up their appearances. Considering the kind of scandalous secret they were hiding, they had to do everything to avoid getting sloppy.

He looked at his ward as she slowly sipped her drink. Shiori looked absolutely miserable with her hair plastered on her head and her fingertips turning blue from the cold. But he knew her well enough to know that physical discomforts were the last things in her mind at that moment. Ever since that disastrous assignment concerning Fu nearly two years ago, jinchuuriki retrieval missions had become a tough pill to swallow for the twenty-year-old Rinha descendant. Itachi knew that Shiori had always been against killing people, even those whom most people would consider scum. What made these retrievals especially difficult for her was the fact that these people had done nothing wrong to deserve the kind of deaths the Akatsuki were known for executing. She had no idea what the organization was planning for them. But whenever they were brought up in conversations, the topic always veered towards ways on how to put them down. Fu had been their first victim. After the intel she had given them a few days ago, she was certain that the mission to capture Han was well on its way. He would be their second hunt.

"You look tired," Itachi said, genuine concern flashing in his eyes. "Try to get some sleep once you've finished your tea."

"You and I both know that's not going to happen tonight," she deadpanned. She curled her fingers against her cup, warming them back to life.

"It's you or them, Shiori. If you died trying to deny intel to the Akatsuki then those men will simply find other ways to get to the jinchuuriki. Acting stubborn won't help anybody in this situation.

"I know." She stole a quick glance at him. "You don't look so good yourself either. What's the matter?" She was consciously trying to sound nonchalant. Fudo, Sora and Kisame were in the building with them. They can never be too careful.

The truth was, he didn't feel so good either. He woke up that morning in the middle of a spell. It took a lot of his willpower not to panic while he drowned in his own bed. He decided to keep this from her and skipped to the other big issue that was bothering him.

"Sasori-san finally got hold of Kabuto-san, one of the sleeper agents working directly under Orochimaru. He confirmed that Sasuke is with them."

Gray eyes grew round with surprise. "Until now? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Healthy even. Orochimaru wants to take over his body once he deems him ready. I heard he still has ways to go so for now he's safe with him." His voice was flat, void of every emotion that ought to have been there.

"Itachi-"

"He's alive. That's all that matters to me."

Shiori paused for a minute. She took a long gulp of her lukewarm tea.

"Shisui-san had it spot on, you know," she said.

"Shisui?" He gave her a confused look.

"You're good at fooling yourself, Itachi. That's why you can't grasp your true feelings."

A chill ran down his spine upon hearing his koibito repeat the words of his dead bestfriend.

* * *

It took three days and two nights to seal the five-tailed beast inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Patch. After one final surge of concentrated chakra from each Akatsuki member, its final remnants were forced into the stone behemoth in front of them. The body of its jinchuuriki hovered in the air for one moment before plummeting head first on the ground some twenty feet below them.

Itachi let out a long, shaky breaath under his cloak. This time had been different. He wasn't personally in the lair when they extracted the seven-tails from Fu. Both him and Kisame had been stuck in the rubbles of Uzushiogakure and had participated in the sealing ritual using the Gentoshin Jutsu. Now, with him and his partner taking a breather from missions, they had been summoned to appear in front of the ghastly abomination in person in the hopes of speeding up the tedious procedure. He tried to ignore the sickening crack that resonated as Han's lifeless body landed on the ground. Murmurs began among the group as they took turns guessing who among them would be the one to get rid of the former Iwagakure shinobi's giant remains.

"Moments like this makes you think you work in a circus, doesn't it Itachi-san?" White Zetsu chirped happily beside him.

In the end it was Tobi, whom everyone thought was the newest member, who was tasked with the troublesome disposal. The masked man let out a defeated sigh from where he stood at the foot of the statue.

"But Pain-sama, at _least_ get one of them to help!" he begged, his one visible eye looking expectantly at his cloaked comrades.

"Move, Tobi. Today," Pain replied.

"Oh man!"

Itachi's gaze followed Tobi as he trudged towards man. The faceless shinobi grabbed on to the corpse's collar before disappearing into a vacuum-like void.

'Kamui,' Itachi thought to himself. Unlike some of the members, he was privy to Tobi's real identity. Beneath the playful tone and clumsy maneuvers was a man more sinister than all of them combined. He tried to maintain as much distance from him as possible, to remain inconspicuous and blend in amidst the violence and deceit which ran rampant within the Akatsuki. The last thing he wanted to happen was for Uchiha Madara to find out that he was working against him.

With the five-tails sealed and its jinchuuriki dealt with, Pain began asking for updates regarding the status of the other tailed beasts. One of Sasori's sleeper agents reported that Gaara, the one-tail jinchuuriki, had been chosen as the fifth Kazekage. It was too early to tell whether or not this will work in their favor but either way, he would most likely be their next target. A hunter-nin working with Kakuzu had disclosed that Utakata of the six-tails was last spotted near the border of Tsuchigumo Village. Meanwhile, Uzumaki Naruto of the nine-tails had left Konoha to train under the tutelage of Jiraiya the Toad Sage. Their current location remained unknown.

"Itachi, I expect you to figure out the answer to that," Pain declared.

"Yes."

"And I believe that you'll be able to capture him."

"Yes." Despite the only pair of Rinnegan in the world staring back at him, the lie slipped out of his mouth flawlessly, like all the thousand lies he had said. The truth was, he wasn't as concerned with how to capture Naruto as he was with how to make it look like he was actively pursuing him. Due to the sheer power possessed by the nine-tails, it was likely that they were gong to seal it last. By the time they get more than half of the tailed beasts, he would have been dead already.

"We should have taken that jinchuuriki with us that day we infiltrated Konoha," Kisame said as they made their way out of the cave. "Now the seeds of your paranoia has come back to haunt you."

"That was not the right time," Itachi replied. "I doubt it will be for some time."

"You're right," a female voice replied from behind. Kisame and Itachi turned around and came face-to-face with Konan.

"I didn't even sense you, Konan-san," Itachi greeted her. "Not that I expected otherwise."

"A compliment from an Uchiha. I guess all that hard work is beginning to pay off." She gave them the faintest of smiles before handing Itachi a sealed mission scroll.

"Something to keep you occupied," she explained. "This is going to be particularly hard for your ward but I suggest you take her with you. The success of this mission lies on how well the interrogation was done."

"You make it sound like Shio-chan has a choice," Kisame piped up.

Konan gave Itachi a lingering look before excusing herself with a bow.

* * *

Shori greeted them with a bow before limping her way towards the dining table. Her feet ached terribly. Never had she ran as fast as she did that morning when Hidan decided to make her his impromptu live bait for their target shinobi.

"Rough day?" Kisame asked as she plopped on her seat with a pained wince.

"I'll live," she mumbled. Her gaze fell on to the scroll sitting in the middle of the table.

"It's an interrogation job so it shouldn't be too hard on your part," Itachi pointed out, noting her wary look.

Shiori nodded, not that she minded if it had been a field mission. If she was doing it with Itachi and Kisame, her chances of returning to the headquarters alive were quite big.

"What's it about?"

There was a long pause before Itachi replied. "Shimogakure has requested our aid in a rescue mission."

Right in front of their eyes, Shiori's expression changed from that of shock, to confusion and then to suspicion. She didn't even bother hiding her distaste at the mention of the village that had just about ruined everything for her.

"I thought this was an interrogation mission," she said. Her throat suddenly felt thick with tension.

"A part of it is. One of Shimo's kunoichi has been kidnapped. She belongs to one of the village's most powerful shinobi clans so you can understand why they are keen on getting her back. They have captured an accomplice to the crime but he's not talking. That's where you come in."

"They want her back before the day of her wedding, which is a week from today. Otherwise we only get half of the pay," Kisame supplied. Shiori snorted at this.

'Damn Shimo and its shrewd elders,' she thought.

"Actually I was thinking along the lines of rescuing her before she dies. But I guess a wedding is a good excuse for a speedy rescue."

"Don't get smart with us. I'm not in the mood," Kisame replied with acid in his voice.

Shiori quickly apologized. "Sorry. So who's the kunoichi?"

This time it was Itachi who replied. "Ueda Yuki, betrothed to the heir of the Matsushiro clan."

He waited for her to move, to say anything which could clue him in on her thoughts. She remained still as a statue. Even her gaze was unmoving, boring holes into the stone walls behind him. From where he sat with his Sharingan on, he could see her pupils slowly dilating.

"Do you know her?" he asked cautiously.

Shiori snorted again. This time she was quieter. The names _U_ _eda_ and _Matsushiro_ echoed inside her head in a deafening chorus.

"I've heard of her."

* * *

The interrogation took less than five minutes. It took more effort for them to get to the small village right outside of Shimogakure than it was for Shiori to gather intel on Yuki's current location.

Even at first glance, Itachi and Kisame could tell that the Shimo-nins and their captive recognized Shiori. The surprise of seeing her back in Frost Country after two years was quickly replaced with fear and repulsion.

All of the men in the room except the two missing nins took several steps backwards as Shiori made her way towards her subject. As she began reading, Itachi could hear murmurs among the other shinobi.

"I do not want to be that bastard."

"I heard she can suck the life out of you with a single touch."

"Shame. I'd be more interested to see her suck something else."

Low chuckles echoed in the enclosed space. It was all Itachi could do to not slam his fist on their mouths. He was in an official mission. It was neither the right time nor place to let his anger get the best of him.

This had been an hour ago.

Now they were plowing through shin-deep snow towards the southwest border of Frost Country. Snow was falling so heavily that Itachi had to activate his Sharingan to see clearly. Kisame guarded his back while Shiori trudged quietly at his left. She hadn't said much since the three of them left the warehouse along with the four Shimo-nins assigned with them for the rescue mission.

"I still don't understand why we have to go with them," she mumbled. "They already got the location. They should have things under control by now."

"This is part of the agreement in the mission scroll," Itachi explained. "My guess is the Shimo elders wanted to make sure that we weren't bluffing so they specified that we have to escort Yuki-san back to the village safely before we get paid."

"Or it could simply be that they know their shinobi don't stand a chance against Kumo-nins," Shiori replied with a voice too loud. He could tell that the statement wasn't just for his ears.

Jun, the Shimo-nin who made the lewd comments earlier, turned around to glare at her. "Watch your mouth, witch. In case you've forgotten, you have overstayed your welcome here." His eyes widened when he noticed a pair of Sharingan glaring back at him.

"Are you questioning my decision, shinobi-san?" Itachi asked him casually. True, the agreement had been to use Shiori to gather the intel then send her back to Yugakure on her own. But with news of a blizzard approaching from the east, he put his foot down and insisted that they took his ward all the way to Shimo, much to Shiori and the Shimo-nins' chagrin. He wasn't keen on losing an asset over something as petty as hypothermia.

Jun struggled to find his words. He was about to throw a retort when Itachi beat him to it.

"I suggest you keep your eyes forward. We're on dangerous terrain. It would be a shame if you meet an untimely end in the glaciers you've become so familiar with." The threat in his words was evident. Fortunately, Jun was smart enough to back down. One of this comrades nudged him and signaled at him to walk faster.

"Pussies," Kisame spat from behind them.

Itachi turned to Shiori. "You. Stop riling people up. You're just a tag along so lie low."

"But-"

"Lie _low_ , Shiori."

* * *

The bulk of the rescue mission was done by the Shimo-nins. Two of Itachi's bunshin as well as Kisame himself provided back-up, throwing the necessary shuriken here and there if the situation called for it. Most of their time was spent breaking down the enemy's defense outside of the small minshuku which held their target. While the skirmish ensued, Itachi preferred to stay out of the way and instructed to Kisame that he do the same.

"Has anyone told you that you're too kind Itachi-san?" Kisame asked gruffly, annoyed when one of his partner's kunais prevented the Samehada from landing a fatal blow on a Kumo-nin.

"It's not worth it getting worked up over these kinds of missions."

Infiltration was made many times easier as Itachi cast a genjutsu over the five Kumo-nins defending the interior of the building. One of them managed to break through but was quickly put down by an earth jutsu by one of the Shimo-nins.

"I got her!" The shinobi named Roka exclaimed. He jumped down from the second floor with Maeda Yuki in his arms. The orange-haired kunoichi was unresponsive and had a glassy look in her green eyes. Other than that, she looked alright.

"She's under a genjutsu," Jun pointed out. He turned to one of Itachi's bunshin, knowing full well that the Uchiha prodigy specialized in genjutsu. The bunshin merely signaled at them to head out.

Outside, behind a tall bush, Itachi and Shiori crouched down, waiting for the team's return. The two had been mostly quiet, bracing themselves for anything that could possibly happen.

"It's frustrating isn't it?" Itachi started, catching the raven-haired girl's attention. "The village asks for your assistance and you answer their plea. Even then, they still try to rip us off."

"The Shimo elders can be a bunch of assholes sometimes," Shiori replied.

"Hn. It's not just them who can play that game." He turned to face his koibito. "In a few minutes, the team will return with Yuki-san who is in a genjutsu-induced stupor. I want you to release her from it - "

"-release her? Whoa. Whoa!-" She flailed her hands in front of her to stop him but he wasn't having any of it.

"-Do what you do when you're trying to control your chakra and then your release it but in a smaller scale-"

"-I'll make her face explode!-"

"-You won't." He grabbed her shoulders to keep her quiet. "Your chakra control is way better compared to how it was with the Uzumaki redhead. If you can't hurt me with it I doubt you'll hurt Yuki-san. Now, let's show them who the real businessmen are."

He let her go with a wink just as the group appeared in their hiding place. The two bunshin vanished and he signaled at her to keep moving.

Shiori approached Roka who had the limp Yuki in his arms. He took a few steps back.

"What are you doing?" he asked warily.

"Giving you your precious kunoichi back. What do you think?" Her words came out sounding more bitter than she would have wanted them to. With a nervous sigh, she placed her hand on the clothed part of the kunoichi's arm. She concentrated on gathering a small amount of chakra into a coil and released it. The orange-haired girl woke up with a start.

"Holy Kami, it worked," Shiori whispered.

Yuki looked around at familiar faces before her gaze landed onto a pair of familiar gray eyes, gray eyes which have haunted her since their disappearance two years ago.

"Shiori," she blurted out, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

The Witch of Shimogakure blinked at her once. Twice.

"Welcome back, Yuki," she greeted quietly.

Itachi turned to Jun. "I'm sure you have read the agreement. It only said that we assist in physically bringing her back to Shimo alive. There's a clause at the bottom which states that any kind of assistance given outside of that definition warrants a different pay. Double if Kisame-san and I find ourselves unable to do the job ourselves and ask for assistance from other sources like my ward Shiori." He smirked at the older shinobi. "I'm afraid there's no going around it. Now we really have to take her with us to Shimogakure to get her payment."

"You..." Jun took a step towards Itachi, stopping when he felt the tip of the Samehada hovering on his shoulder.

"It would be a shame if you guys sour the partnership between Shimo and the Akatsuki," Kisame butted in, sensing the game that the Uchiha was trying to play. "In fact I'm betting that your wise elders will agree with me when I say that you do _not_ want to get on our bad side."

* * *

 _"You didn't have to do that. I'm not too crazy about going back to Shimogakure either. I don't mind waiting on a nearby village for you guys. Honestly."_

 _"Don't be ridiculous. You're coming with us."_

 _"Itachi, please-"_

 _"They know you're with us. They know who you are and they know that Shimo already has the money from selling you to us. What's stopping them from getting rid of you if they get a chance?"_

 _"They won't."_

 _"Are you sure about that? They've done it before have they?"_

Perhaps Kisame was right. He was getting more paranoid especially when it came to his ward. That could be true. What he found curious was that the more Shiori voiced out her refusal to go back to her old village, the more Itachi wanted her to. He couldn't deny the fact that he was intrigued. She was avoiding something or someone. It certainly wasn't the disgust of the villagers. Her reaction from the Shimo-nins' jeers from earlier told him that much.

'So what is it? Or who?'

Itachi's brain churned out an answer not too long after and its genius suggestion made him sick. He looked at his ward with his peripheral vision. She had not said a word since she greeted Yuki during the last leg of their successful retrieval mission. Now with the silhouette of Shimogakure looming over them, she seemed to have shrunk into herself, hiding beneath her oversized cloak. Her face was now completely hidden by her hood. A few yards in front of them, the tangerine-haired Yuki kept looking back at Shiori's direction. Her look wasn't that of repulsion but of uncertainty and, if Itachi wasn't imagining it, nervousness.

"I was under the impression that you two knew each other, Shio-chan," Kisame said from behind them, voicing out his partner's thoughts.

Shiori remained quiet, only moving to brace herself as a gust of icy wind blew from the south. Not one to be ignored, Kisame marched over to Itachi's side and gently poked his ribs with his elbow.

"Something's up with those two," he muttered under his breath. When Itachi raised an eyebrow at him, he added, "I'm betting one hundred ryos on it."

As the gates of Shimogakure came into view, they noticed a small group of people waiting right outside it. Yuki broke away from the group and sprinted towards them. One person from the waiting cluster did the same and ran towards Yuki to meet her halfway. His hood peeled back revealing long jet black hair which was haphazardly secured into a ponytail. Itachi did a doubletake. Before he could think more into it, Yuki jumped into the man's arms, giving him a tearful embrace.

"Eiji!"

"Yuki. Thank goodness you're safe."

His soothing words sounded jumbled to Itachi as he came to a stop.

' _Eiji_?' he thought. Hearing the name made his stomach churn uncomfortably. It reminded him of a narrowly-missed skirmish, of gray eyes pleading at him to hold back for one more minute. _Who's Eiji?_ He had asked that question before. He never got a clear answer.

"I swear I've heard that name somewhere," Kisame wondered loudly. "He doesn't have a bloodline limit, does he Itachi?" He turned to his partner but did not get a reply. The younger member of the duo was looking pointedly at Shiori as though willing her to look at him. She stayed unmoving on her spot.

As the couple continued to stare lovingly at each other, the Shimo-nins stepped aside to give way to two middle-aged men walking towards them. It didn't take much for Kisame to deduce that they were the heads of the Matsushiro and Ueda clan. The one on the right had auburn hair which was many shades darker than Yuki's but him and the kunoichi had many facial similarities. He bowed down in front of Kisame and Itachi.

"I never doubted for a second that you were the right men for the job. The Ueda clan will be forever in debt to your organization," he said in a smooth voice.

The man beside him bowed in gratitude as well. This one had graying hair and sharp obsidian eyes which were eerily shaped like Itachi's.

"It's not just them who are thankful," the man added.

With his partner going mute, Kisame realized that he had to do all of the talking this time. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Though I must say, circumstances wouldn't have been that easy to overcome had it not been for the assistance of our asset. She played a big part in the success of this mission," he concluded, implying to the two that they were expecting additional charges. Ueda was quick to pick up on this.

"That assistance will be compensated accordingly," the redhead replied.

Yuki whispered something to Eiji causing him to stiffen and for his jaw to grow slack. He untangled himself from his fiance's embrace and stumbled towards the clan heads, stopping beside the dark-eyed man. The young shinobi bore such a striking resemblance to the Matsushiro head it was apparent to everyone that he was the heir.

"Otousan," he sighed. But his eyes were glued to the cloaked figure beside Itachi. The Uchiha glared at him.

"Please," the older Matsushiro started, nodding at the duo's company, "may we have the honor of meeting you so that we can extend our gratitude wholeheartedly?"

Shiori complied and pulled her hood down, revealing to the three men and to the crowd gathering by the gates her ashen features. She locked eyes with Eiji who couln't help but whisper her name. The two clan heads exchanged alarmed glances while murmurs erupted from behind them.

"It's true. That's her."

"The witch is back."

"No way."

Shiori steeled herself and bowed to the three in greeting.

"Hi Eiji," she said, voice shaking with pent up emotions. She turned to his father who stood gaping at her. "Bad decisions have a way of haunting us don't they, Matsushiro-san?"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Shisui's line is not mine (The line Shiori was talking about on the first bit). If you're a massive Itachi fan and had painstakingly gone through every episode that even breathed his name, then I guess you would know what a _koibito_ is. I'm sure by now we ALL know who Obito really is but at one point nobody did, even Itachi thought he was Madara because he introduced himself as the big M-I'm still in that part in this chapter.

Trying to de-OOCify Itachi here just a wee bit without taking away his humanity. I dont know if it worked but...hope you liked it. The next chapter may still revolve around Shiori more but I tried to even it out in this chapter by writing through Itachi's POV most of the time. Hope that helped as well.

Anyways...y'all know what I want. Click. Review.


	20. The Confrontation

_"You may find this difficult to accept but we always have Shimogakure's best interest in mind with every decision we make, including the one which involved sending you off."_

Shiori lied as still as she could on the lukewarm tatami mat as she tried to re-assess her current situation. She was still in Shimogakure, which was bad enough as it was. She was also inside the Matsushiro compound, a place she had never ventured into when she was younger and one which she didn't plan on stepping foot after her relationship with Eiji fell apart. This made everything feel twice as worse.

For her sanity's sake, she tried to look at the bright side, even if it was just a slither of light in the darkness.

'At least they were chivalrous enough to give me my own room, she thought to herself. Then as an afterthought she added, 'Probably so you can save face while you cry yourself to sleep.'

Matsushiro Genta's words echoed in her head once again. He had sounded so cold and matter-of-fact. His tone was a far cry from the look of surprise on his face upon seeing her, a minute before he made that statement. And just thinking about it made Shiori squirm with hurt and pent up anger. The look on Eiji's face upon hearing his father confirmed her suspicion. Genta had more than Shimogakure's best interest when they decided to sell her to the Akatsuki.

Her door slid open, startling her into a sitting position. Shiori came face to face with her handler, Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi? Is everything alright?" she rasped, voice hoarse from lack of use.

"That's what I want to confirm," he replied, closing the door behind him before leaning against it. His arms crossed over his chest, a move which emphasized the frown on his face.

Shiori braced herself on instinct. "I thought there had been an emergency, considering you didn't knock." Itachi may be an S-rank criminal but his manners were impeccable.

'Until now.'

An awkward silence fell between them, with Itachi rooted on his spot, refusing to meet her gaze while Shiori looked up at him expectantly. And then she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and made her way towards him.

"Don't." His deep voice boomed in the silence. She halted in her tracks. She gasped when Itachi's eyes found hers. The three tomoe of each Sharingan spun lazily around his pupils.

"Itachi-"

"Matsushiro Eiji," he cut her off. "He was your lover, your _koibito_."

Shiori took a step back, caught off guard with what he had just said. "You're right. Was. But that was ages ago. What we had was a thing of the past."

"He was the boy you told me about. The one who broke your heart so bad you were still reeling from it when we took you."

"Like I said, a thing of the past. Why are we even talking about him?" she chuckled, crossing the gap between them and squeezing his arms through thick fabric.

"I'm with you now. _You're_ my koibito _now_ and that's what matters."

A small smile spread across his lips, one that failed to light up his entire face. "And you want me to believe that you being with me has nothing to do with him."

He might as well have slapped her. Shiori recoiled away from him.

"What?"

"I've almost forgotten about it, that day when we were on the road. Back then, I wondered for some time why you called me Eiji. Now it makes perfect sense."

Itachi absolutely hated to admit it. But him and the Matsushiro heir bore such a striking resemblance that they could pass for brothers. The dark spiky hair, the dark eyes and delicate facial features made Eiji look like an Uchiha. Even Kisame commented on it.

 _"You think Sasuke-kun will be thrilled to find out that his aniki has a doppelganger?"_

"You wanted to badly to be with him. You yearned for him. When we took you away that became impossible so instead you settled for a knock off."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Shiori retorted, voice rising in the witching hour. "How dare you accuse me of such bullshit!"

Itachi, despite the storm in his chest, remained stoic on the outside.

"Hn. Don't think you cant get away with lying to me just because I choose not to get inside your head, Shiori." He leaned forward so his gaze leveled with hers. "I saw the way you looked at each other. Everyone did. Say what you want but from what I saw with that look, what you both had isn't as far back in the past as you claim it to be."

"That is _not_ true!" Shiori shouted. Tears began brimming from her eyes. "Itachi don't do this."

She reached out to caress his face. He stopped her by holding on to her wrists. His Sharingan faded away, leaving only his dark-eyed gaze searching her face. For what, she wasn't sure.

"I choose you," she whispered. She struggled to curb the panicked sob from escaping within her. All this time Itachi had been the sole force that kept her from falling apart. At that moment, in that cramped room, she felt a gap growing between them, one that hadn't been there for months and it terrified her. She didn't want to lose him too.

"You have to believe me. I chose to be with you because you matter to me. That's all there is."

Itachi swallowed the lump in his throat and gently placed her hand to her sides.

"Guess I'm not the only one who is good at lying to myself."

* * *

 **GLOSSARY:**

"aniki" - older brother

"koibito" - lover

"S-rank" (when used in relation to a missing-nin) - extremely powerful missing nin (highly experienced jonin or Kage-level shinobi), earning them a place in their village of origin's Bingo Book [SOURCE: NARUTOPEDIA]

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ Hey guys. Sorry about that long wait. I have to admit I wasn't sure that I was going to be back. So much has happened these past few months. I've been all over the place and tbh I ran out of steam for this story. Call it good ol' Writer's Block. I just couldn't churn out a material which I deemed good enough to post. And (not to pressure you guys) but review-wise it was also kinda quiet. I know it shouldn't always be the case but I took it as a sign that I needed to step back because my writing is getting dull. Haha! (Though I absolutely hated the thought of not finishing a story. So here I am. Trying to push this through.)

This one right here is me stretching my muscles after a rather lengthy break. It's short but I decided to post this bit first so I don't get overwhelmed with stuff later on. Hope you enjoyed it. **PrincessOctavia** big thanks for the lengthy review (and it's a CONCRIT! gosh! you have no idea how happy I am to get that!). As suggested I've put a glossary to make things easier for you guys. Thank you for that. As for the fluff...I'll try to squeeze it where I can. Hope to hear from you guys.


	21. A Hidden Agenda

The transaction between Shimogakure and the Akatsuki was fairly straightforward. The heads of the Matsushiro and Ueda clan readily obliged to the terms given by Kisame and Itachi. They were more than happy to pay a large sum of money for bringing Yuki back to safety.

"Because of you, the union between our clans has become possible again," Ueda Taro said with great pride. "And I doubt it is just me who believes that this union will eventually lead to stronger relations among many of Shimogakure's shinobi."

A murmur of approval echoed among the entire council. Eiji and Yuki, who were seated on one end of the Council Room exchanged looks with the latter smiling bashfully at her betrothed before looking away. Eiji grinned freely until he caught sight of Itachi looking at him. He nodded his head at him in gratitude. Perhaps he imagined it but he could swear that the Uchiha narrowed his eyes at him before reverting his attention back to Genta and Taro. Eiji's smile faded.

* * *

Heavy snow fell upon the small village not long after the meeting was adjourned. Kisame and Itachi both agreed that it was wise to let this subside first before they proceeded with their journey. Northern snowstorms were notorious for being dangerously unpredictable and had taken more than a handful of unsuspecting travellers into their icy graves.

"I'm heading to the market nearby to gather some food supplies. You want to come?" Kisame asked.

The younger shinobi shook his head. "You go. I'll restock for the both of us on the next leg."

"Alright then. I'll meet you at the gates this afternoon."

Kisame didn't think twice about his partner turning down his offer and made his way to the exit of the massive compound. Itachi continued to stroll aimlessly in the vast snow-covered lot. Now that he was alone, he was once again left at the mercy of this thoughts. For the hundredth time he replayed the events from the night before. And for the hundredth time his stomach churned painfully.

She had gone after, calling out his name after he walked out of her room before his emotions got the best of him. She wouldn't have stopped chasing him had he not resorted to ninjutsu and vanished on the spot.

He knew that he was being cruel, not to mention unfair. She _did_ beg him many times that she remained outside of the village. His curiosity got the best of him and what he found out between Shiori and Eiji hit him so hard it left his head spinning.

He knew exactly what it was. But he never thought he was capable of feeling such a potent kind of jealousy. It made him illogical, impulsive and emotional, characteristics that he couldn't afford in his line of work. Nausea came over him as a concluding thought crossed his mind. What had once been one of the best things in his life was quickly becoming his undoing.

Itachi quickly spun around as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He hid his surprise well upon seeing who it was. Eiji was more readable.

"Uchiha-san," he greeted him with a bow. "I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you at this part of the compound."

Itachi bowed back at him out of respect but said nothing. He gazed at the large pond in front of them. Despite the sheet of ice over it, he could see flashes of orange and red slithering underneath. Eiji walked over towards him and followed his gaze, mindful of keeping a respectable distance between the two of them.

"It's a good thing I caught you here," he said. "That way I get to thank you personally."

"We only did what we had to do and you paid a large amount of money for it. There is no need to thank us multiple times," Itachi replied flatly.

Eiji chuckled, toeing a thin sheet of ice with his boot. "I wasn't talking about the mission."

With his attention piqued, the rogue shinobi turned to look at the Matsushiro heir, his uncanny look-a-like.

"Hoshikagi-san and I were talking about you last night. He mentioned that you're the main person in-charge of Shiori. You've taken good care of her. She looks well."

Maybe it was the hint of fondness in his voice or the lack of honorifics being used when he was addressing his ward. Or maybe it was simply because he was Eiji. Either way, Itachi's nerves were grated.

"I repeat, there is no need to thank me. She is a grown woman. She takes care of herself just fine."

"The Shiori I knew was incapable of controlling her ability, much less exhibit enough chakra control to break someone out of a genjutsu." Eiji gave him a knowing look. "Everyone knows what you specialize in, Uchiha-san. In fact you're feared for it. It's not that difficult to put the pieces together."

"You seem highly interested in my ward, Matsushiro-san."

Eiji shrugged and looked out at the snowy scene in front of them. "She hasn't...told you anything about life here in Shimo? Who she was? Who her friends were?"

"No," he replied curtly. He was lying out of spite though he didn't have to admit to that. He hid the urge to smirk when he saw the defeated look on Eiji's face.

The Shimo-nin sighed. "Anyway why would she? We sent her away after all."

"How does sending an innocent girl away benefit Shimogakure?" Itachi asked. For an entire council to decide firmly on one person's fate, he could tell there was more to the story than even Shiori was aware of.

Eiji was silent for a while, deliberating on whether or not to reveal the political agenda behind the events from over two years ago. The Akatsuki-nin turned to face him. Onyx met onyx.

"Is there more to my ward that I have to know about?"

"Not really," Eiji replied. "But if you want the official reason, they were suspecting her of espionage."

Even Itachi did not see that coming. There was no way that bumbling mess of a girl from two years ago could be a spy.

"Ridiculous, I know," Eiji added when he saw the doubt crossing the young man's face. "Somehow my father dug out information about her parentage and presented a feasible case to the council. We both know her father is a Rinha. That's what got you interested in her in the first place. But the information many of us overlooked had something to do about her mother, Sotome Yugen, one of those travelling merchants who never quite settle on one place for too long."

"What about her?"

"They did more research and found something big. Yugen-san is...was a kunoichi, one of the most highly-skilled members of Kumogakure's Special Op. She was a sensor type specializing in genjutsu and memory fuinjutsu, an S-rank technique she created which allows her to seal memories in a person's mind making them nearly impossible to access during interrogations. Our intel suggested that she did a lengthy espionage mission during the Third Shinobi War before resigning from her post, or so they say. She disappeared for years after that. The next time she showed up, she was trading goods all over the Lands with a daughter in tow." Eiji paused. "Shiori doesn't know."

"Which could mean that her fuinjutsu is strong enough to withstand Shiori's bloodline limit."

"Or maybe she simply made Shiori forget prior to leaving her here in Shimo. The possibilities are endless."

"That's an interesting backstory, Matsushiro-san," Itachi pointed out. "But it still doesn't justify why you would suspect Yugen's daughter of being a spy."

"I believe it was a combination of factors. The Elders grew weary of Shiori when they found out that she was a daughter of two highly-accomplished shinobi, even if she herself couldn't do a decent roundhouse kick without toppling over. Her parents are Kumo-nins. As we all know, our relationship with the Hidden Cloud has been shaky at best since the Third Shinobi War. Yugen-san's specialty made them suspect that she was using her daughter's mutated bloodline limit to gather intel from Shimogakure. If that was the case, they feared that they couldn't control the mother-daughter duo so they sent her away. With Shiori out of the equation, Yugen had lost her eyes and ears in Shimo."

Itachi had to admit, Genta had made a good point. Still, there had to be someone who could have proven Shiori's innocence. Even as Eiji recited these information to him, he could tell that the young man was skeptical.

"I know recognition when I see it," Itachi started after a long pause. "At one point in your life, you knew her well enough to disprove these claims...if you really wanted to." When Eiji didn't say anything, he pushed through, "I saw the way Yuki looked at her and I saw the way you looked at her. One thing that both your looks had in common was guilt."

"Of course I tried," the Matsushiro heir replied, his voice straining with frustration. "And for what it's worth, I proved to my father that she was innocent, even ignorant of her mother's past. Which brings us to the unofficial reason he got rid of her."

Itachi could already guess what it was and yet he remained quiet. What he was about to hear was a dirty little secret from a person whom he thought had given up so much that he had nothing left to lose.

Eiji once again locked eyes with him. "Me. Even after I broke up with her and took in Yuki was my betrothed, he knew I wouldn't proceed with the wedding with Shiori nearby. So he did something about it. I make my father sound like a sadistic bastard, I know. But I get where he was coming from. What she and I had was a political nightmare. A Matsushiro ending up with a Rinha would have been the scandal of the century. It would've dragged the entire clan down. That time, we've been together long enough for people to start catching wind of it. When you're the head of one of the village's largest clans you do what you can to keep your brethrens afloat. You were clan heir once. You would know."

The two young men were silent for a long time. They watched as one of the carps broke through the icy pond's surface and jumped in the air.

"I wouldn't have been able to keep her safe," Eiji said, breaking the spell. "To be honest, I thought she was done for when you came to get her. But in the end, you managed to succeed where I failed. You'll always have my gratitude for that."

He should have felt good about it. He ought to have felt flattered. Instead all he felt was an all-consuming emptiness inside him where it once had felt so full. Hearing Eiji's confession made him feel like he was a third wheel in a story which he knew nothing about.

* * *

 **GLOSSARY:**

Kumogakure - The Hidden Cloud Village, the hidden village of the Land of Lightning

Bloodline Limit - Abilities passed down within a certain clan

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hi guys. First of all, thanks for the welcome. I was a bit nervous about how this story was going to taken after being dormant for so long. Your reviews, follows and favorites were a huge relief. Now about this chapter...tbh I find this is too wordy. Too much talking and not enough action in it (kind of like those filler arcs in Naruto) but I did think this was necessary just to give you guys an idea of the real score between Shiori and Eiji. Even then despite the pain he caused Shiori, I always thought Eiji wasn't just dicking around when he decided to break up with her. And I wanted to get it out there that he had a very real reason to do so. As for Itachi, I think the guy has enough grace to maintain a conversation (he just decide not to in many occasions). Hopefully this chapter made him a bit human-feeling without going overboard with the OOC-ness. I promise more Itachi/Shiori interaction later on. Just had to get this over with. Thanks again for reading guys. Hope to hear from you.


	22. Difference

She had expected a day full of tearful outbursts. She was prepared to walk around the small village with red-rimmed eyes and a stuffy nose. She had accepted the fact that she was going to be airing her heartbreak for everyone to see. What she didn't expect was to find herself rolling on the ankle-deep snow, screaming her throat hoarse as she tried to claw her bestfriend's face off.

That morning Shiori thought it was a good idea to visit her old home, the place where everything started and ended for her. She was surprised to see that the yard, though capped with powdery ice, was well-kept, the frozen hedges trimmed. The light in the living room flickered off and the front door slid open to reveal a beautiful woman with blonde hair holding a pail of cleaning materials on one hand.

Shibazaki Miyako paused at her doorstep, her face donning in a nervous smile.

"Shio-chan," she greeted her. "I heard the news that you were back. I thought you might drop by for a visit so I made sure everything is ready for you. I guess I was right."

Shiori was frozen on the spot. What do you say to your bestfriend years after she had led the Akatsuki to your doorstep? She wasn't sure.

"How have you been?" Miyako asked gleefully, either unaware or ignoring the storm brewing within her. "I missed you, you know."

Shiori snapped. With a guttural cry, she charged at her bestfriend and dragged her on the very ground that Itachi had captured her. Both ladies squealed when their skin hit the melting wet snow.

"Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?!" Shiori screeched in between attempts at slapping the blonde whose waist she now sat on. Miyako was quick enough to block all of them.

"Stop it! For Kami's sake have you lost your mind?!"

Shiori's right hand tugged out of her grip and it landed on her cheek with a sharp crack. Miyako's head snapped violently to one side.

"Yes! Who's fault do you think that is?"

A few more poorly-aimed slaps came her way before she mustered enough strength to shift her hip hard enough to send Shiori off-balance. The younger girl fell on her back with a groan. Miyako didn't waste any time and pinned her down with her entire weight. Despite her cries of protest, she took Shiori's face with both hands, placing her palms flat against her flushed skin.

"Read me. Read me, Shio-chan. I have nothing to hide."

Shiori grew still. Her pupils blew up and her gaze became unfocused. Miyako didn't stop. She wasn't sure if the younger girl could hear her while she was sucked in her old memories but she felt obliged to speak anyway.

"Kami knows I tried. When I realized that I couldn't stop them I tried to warn you but they found out about it. They threatened to take everything away from me." Miyako struggled to keep her voice steady amidst the hot tears streaming down her raw face.

"I nearly lost my job. They threatened to send my brother and Jin in a suicide mission. I am so sorry. I had to make a choice. As punishment for nearly jeopardizing their plan, they ordered me to lead the Akatsuki to you myself. And there isn't a day when I am not reminded of what I had done."

Shiori began to tremble underneath her. Her breathing grew shallow as fresh hot tears bursted from her gray eyes. She blinked and looked at her square in the face. Miyako let her go tentatively. When she was sure that the younger girl had stopped fighthing, she rolled off of her and landed on her back on the snowy ground. Both girls lay on their spot for some time, unmoving except for the rhythmic rise and fall of their chests while a drizzle of snow fell on them.

Shiori looked pensive, her mind still not quite over what she saw inside Miyako's memories.

Just as she had suspected years before, the blonde girl had been forced to betray her. Still it didn't make it hurt any less. The remorse and guilt which plagued her after that made it worse. For the longest time Miyako thought she had died. The weight that fell on her conscience from it was something Shiori hoped she wouldn't feel personally. She may have been the one exiled but Miyako had been stuck in her own personal hell since that day.

"I would understand if you refuse to forgive me," the older girl said. "You have every right to be angry. What matters is you know my thoughts about all of this."

Shori shook her head. "I saw that you found my secret stash of tea leaves in the kitchen."

Miyako gave her a confused look.

"If we don't have them now, I doubt I'll have another chance to enjoy them in the future." Shiori frowned at her before giving the faintest smile.

"Promise not to try clawing my eyes out and I might just get some water boiling."

"That tea better be good."

"Whatever."

* * *

It was only that day that Shiori realized how much she missed being able to confide to another girl. Back in the days, a female companion was so common that she didn't think much about what it would be like without it. However, ever since she became the Uchiha's ward, it had become a novelty, almost a luxury that she rarely stumbled onto. The only other women she saw on a regular basis were Konan and Sora and she doubted that they had the time to listen to her woes.

Over a pot of hot tea, she spoke of her life outside of Shimogakure while being very careful to leave out details that could jeopardize their safety like the things she had seen inside their captives' heads and her relationship with Itachi.

She spoke of Sora and Fudo, of donning the most beautiful yukata she had ever laid eyes on only to be nearly sliced in half shortly after. She mentioned exploding clays, perverted immortals, long days spent with Kisame and Itachi and even longer hours spent controlling her chakra under her handler's supervision.

Miyako was surprised at this particular information. "So it was the handsome Uchiha who taught you your new skill? Sounds like he's alright, albeit a bit creepy."

Shiori gulped down the remaining half of her cup's contents before pouring herself another cupful.

"He has his moments," the dark-haired girl hurriedly sipped on her hot drink to mask the grimace that automatically spread on her face at the mention of her lover.

'That's former lover for you loser,' she reminded herself.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this but I have to let this out. He could pass as Eiji on certain angles." Miyako nearly freaked out years ago when she first laid eyes on the former Konoha-nin. She thought her childhood friend and Matsushiro heir was playing games on her until she looked closer and saw the Sharingan.

"Yes I do mind," Shiori bit back. Miyako had unknowingly hit a nerve. "And the similarities end there. He is nothing like Eiji. Trust me."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"It is. Plus he certainly does a better job at keeping me safe. That's the most I could ask for these days. So yeah, I guess I did mean it as a compliment."

She was painfully aware of the way Miyako was narrowing her eyes at her. She feigned nonchalance.

"So...is there something going on between the two of you?"

Shiori bristled inwardly. "No. The guy's scarier than a missed period. We only talk when we have to."

"Shio-chan, I think it's about time that you know. You have this tell when you're lying. One doesn't have to read minds like you do to figure out that you're talking bullshit."

The younger girl tried to maintain her resolve. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Are you two dating?"

"I just told you. No." It was technically true as of last night.

"But have you kissed him?"

"No."

"Holy-! Sotome Shiori!" Miyako exclaimed, hands flying to her mouth in shock. "I don't know whether to congratulate you or to slap you. Geez!"

"Miyako, don't be stupid! He's an Uchiha. You don't exactly go around kissing Uchihas in your free time." Not that there were a lot of Uchihas to kiss to begin with.

"Well we normally don't but you _certainly_ succeeded where majority of us failed."

Shiori had never appreciated those terrifying moments she had spent with Kakuzu and Hidan the way she did that very minute. If there was one thing those two psychopaths had taught her, it was how to keep her panic on the inside. Right there with Miyako interrogating her, she could definitely feel her cool slipping.

"So, have you two-"

"No!" she snapped, glaring at the blonde. "This isn't high school anymore. I'm not sure what Eiji and the rest of his precious clan told you but the Akatsuki certainly didn't purchase me to be their muse."

An awkward silence fell between the two friends. It was Miyako who broke the spell.

"I didn't mean to make it sound that way-"

"I know," Shiori cut in, running a hand through her disheveled hair. She didn't mean for all that bitterness to come out of her mouth. Despite everything, it didn't seem fair to pour the anger she felt towards the Elders on her bestfriend's lap just because she knew she could hurt her with it.

"I guess I just got...excited." Miyako smiled knowingly. "You said he makes you feel safe? Despite the circumstances surrounding you both? Safe within the Akatsuki?"

Shiori nodded. There was a sharp tug at her chest. Once again she felt herself yearning for the brooder with the secretly big heart. "I probably sound like I've lost my mind but yes. He does. He...makes me feel safer than I've felt in ages. I don't think I've ever thanked him for that."

The blonde glanced sideways before leaning forward towards her. She She spoke softly, afraid that they may have an eavesdropper nearby.

"Jin would kill me if he hears me say this but...I think I like him."

Shiori smiled at her. "I thought you would."

* * *

"Jin and I are getting married in two years' time in the summer. On my birthday. It's probably just wishful thinking but it would be great if you can drop by."

"Sounds nice."

After one final hug, the blonde bowed at Itachi and Shiori before going on her way.

The two friends had been idly chatting when Itachi appeared on Shiori's doorstep, telling her that it was time to leave.

With Miyako gone, the duo silently made their way towards the village exit. They haven't spoken a word to each other since the night before. And with the way things ended then, neither knew how to approach each other once again.

They crossed the bridge over the Yozakura River and took the quieter eastern road towards the exit. Heavy snow had fallen once again and most of the people had decided to stay indoors. Shiori hadn't seen another person on the road for almost half an hour now.

Suddenly Itachi stopped. Shiori paused as well and turned around to face him.

"Talk to me."

"You won't be going to the Yugakure headquarters with us. Once we reach the border of the Land of Hot Water, Kakuzu and Hidan will be taking you with them."

Shiori gaped at him. "No one told me anything about doing a mission with them."

"There is no mission at the moment. But Kisame and I have spoken to Konan and we thought it was best that you stay with them in the Kawagakure headquarters until further notice."

Shiori felt like someone had just pulled the ground from under her. It took a while for her to find her voice.

"And...how is staying in Kawagakure any better than staying in Yugakure?"

Itachi didn't miss a beat and his face was as neutral as ever.

"The Akatsuki will be after the Kazekage, the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, in the next few days. Kisame and I will have to complete other missions on top of that. I wouldn't be capable of managing a ward amidst all these."

She could feel her face growing hot despite the chilly air around them. She stepped closer to him, eyes shining brightly with pent up anger.

"When did you and Konan decide on this again? Because if this is about last night then at least say it to my face, Itachi. I expect that much from you."

 _Not capable of handling a ward?_ She may not be a shinobi but she wasn't an invalid either. She had ben left under Fudo's care without seeing Itachi for weeks before and she thought she had done just fine.

Itachi coolly gazed at a spot behind her. His aloofness scared her. It was as if he was deliberately distancing himself from her just as she had allowed herself to completely fall for him. The sting of it was not unlike that of betrayal.

"You're going overboard, don't you think?" She flinched when her voice cracked halfway. "All this because you're convinced that I'm still hung up on my ex?"

"There is more to it than your petty reasons, Shiori. Tactically speaking, this is the best move," he replied coolly. He gritted his teeth before meeting her eyes with a cold look of his own. The blatant hurt on her face nearly made him falter.

Of course he wanted her to stay. The last few days, he found himself wanting her more than anything, a want so overwhelming he could feel it in his bones and see it cloud his judgement. He wanted Shiori for no other reason than because he was falling for her. Hard. He concluded that much. And it was because of this that he decided that she had to go.

It dawned on him again just how much was at stake. He couldn't afford to get distracted.

Shiori shrunk back, knowing that the decision had been set long before she knew about it. There wasn't anything she could do anymore, not when he was being like this.

No words were exchange between the two of them after that. Once they reached Hot Water, they found Kakuzu and Hidan waiting on the nearest tea shop from the border. The loan was made and not more than five minutes later, Kakuzu was itching to move out.

Itachi's last image of her was of her hooded figure dragging herself behind the duo as they disappeared down the southern bend heading to Fire Country. It would be months before they would see each other again.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hi guys. So I have a few thoughts about this one.

Re: Miyako/Shiori dynamics. It probably sounds a bit erratic and bipolar and even a bit vulgar. But I always saw Miyako as that one friend whom the OC can be as disgusting with without fear of being judged. We all have that one friend don't we? And with Shiori that's her. The catfight at the start came out so naturally that I left it at that even though it sounds ridiculous (considering how calm they were afterwards)

Re: Itachi/Shiori. Heck I'm stumped as well. Honestly wanted to find a way around it. But if I wanted to keep Itachi in-character he would have to do something that the canon Itachi would do in this situation (I think). And for me I always viewed him as someone who is capable of distancing himself from people who could become his weakness if the situation calls for it.

Anyhoo, thanks for reading. Please do leave a review. Always makes me happy to hear your thoughts guys. See ya.


	23. Damage Control

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and everything in the Narutoverse is earned by Kishimoto. I'm merely a fan.

* * *

On more than one occasion, Itachi had called her a tool. He had likened her to an inanimate object with nonexistent opinions on the missions that were handed to her. Back then she had been naive enough to think that this was the worst insult the members of the Akatsuki could inflict on her. Once she arrived at the headquarters in Kawagakure she realized how sheltered she had been. Hidan and Kakuzu not only referred to wards as tools, they also treated them as such. A ward was allowed to get out on the open when he or she had a mission to accomplish. Otherwise, he or she was stowed away in a cell under lock and key.

Shiori didn't see the light of day during the first week that she spent under the watch of whom Kisame referred to as the Zombie Combo. The spell was only broken when Konan requested for her on one mission, a short one which barely lasted an entire day. That afternoon, in the doorsteps of the headquarters, she had broken down into a tearful mess in front of the purple-haired kunoichi.

"I did everything they asked," she cried out in between hyperventilating breaths. "Why is he doing this to me?"

Shiori pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them in an attempt to calm her breathing. A minute passed before she felt hands on her arms. They pulled her up to a stand, allowing tearful gray eyes to meet consoling amber ones.

"One thing I learned about Itachi-san is that he never does anything without a motive that would benefit even those who received the short end of the stick. Hang in there."

Konan had the decency the give her enough time to get herself together before delivering her back to Kakuzu. It was another two weeks before she had the chance to get out of her cell yet again.

* * *

It had been a quiet day. The absence of the sound of footsteps from upstairs meant Hidan and Kakuzu spent most of their time doing field work. Shiori was ready to call it a night and had climbed into her lumpy futon when she heard her locks turning. Her door swung open revealing Hidan. His oversized scythe rested on his shoulder. If it wasn't for the fact that he was already bathed in blood, she would have been certain that he was there to sacrifice her to Jashin. Still, fear kept her seated in place. Shiori pulled the covers up to her chin.

"Hidan-san, to what do I owe this visit?" she asked nervously.

Hidan chuckled, gloating from the terror he had caused her.

"Take a guess," he replied.

Shiori could hear her blood pumping in her ears. "I'd rather not."

The immortal shinobi stepped into the room and leaned against her dresser, staining the wooden furniture with the blood of his victims.

"I just got into thinking is all," he started. "And now I'm curious. Tell me what it was you did that pushed someone as patient as the Uchiha to get rid of you. Honestly, I want to know."

She shrugged. "I keep asking myself the same thing. Perhaps he came to the conclusion that I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

"Aw, ain't that a shame."

Hidan pushed himself off the dresser and sauntered towards her, stopping at the foot of the futon.

"Hidan-san, please-!" Shiori yelped when he squatted in front of her. His manic grin didn't waver.

"I'm letting you in on a secret. We Jashinists believe that sacrifices who possess bloodline limits are more precious compared to your run-of-the-mill human meat." He lowered his voice into a whisper. "I've been dreaming of cutting that pretty little neck of yours since that day you showed to us what you're capable of."

And he would have impulsively indulged in the bloodlust had it not been for Itachi. Nobody, not even Deidara, would want to get to the Uchiha's bad side. Though avoidant by nature, the young shinobi was more than capable of violence. In fact he was gifted in it, trained to kill before he could walk. Hidan may be impulsive but he was no fool. The fact that Itachi requested updates of his ward's status every week told him that he had to step away and wait. He had to outlive the boy first before he could get his prize.

Hidan looked up to meet Shiori's gaze. The dark-haired girl shook like a leaf.

"Sooner or later your boyfriend will meet his maker. When that day comes, I'll make sure you'll be the first soul to meet Jashin."

Shiori could only stare in shock as Hidan walked out of her cell, closing the wooden door behind him with a loud thud. There was a sharp click indicating that the lock was engaged.

That night she didn't sleep a wink. Every echo in the empty hallway outside of her room made her jump. She feared that the sadistic Hidan would change his mind and come after her sooner the minute she closed her eyes. And then there was his warning. His tone suggested that it was never a matter of _if_ Itachi dies but _when_. Despite the sickness he lived with, the possibility of losing him never felt imminent for Shiori. Itachi always, _always_ found a way around things. And if he didn't, he somehow manages to keep himself in one piece. The same could be said with the other Akatsuki members. To her they were invincible. So when news of Sasori's demise reached their headquarters, the cold knife of fear ran down her back, paralyzing her for a few seconds. Even Kakuzu and Hidan did a double take.

Kakuzu sighed in disbelief. "A few of us are bound to die because of this tailed-beasts business but I never expected him to be the first to go."

Sasori's death was proof that the Akatsuki can be defeated. Shiori thought that if she could come to this conclusion then the hidden shinobi villages certainly have as well. Every member will be scrutinized for a weakness and then attacked methodically. Uchiha Itachi won't be exempted. Villages will be coming to get him. That is if Uchiha Sasuke doesn't get to him first.

* * *

 **Two Months Later:**

The task wasn't anything special, another odd job she agreed to do for Kakuzu in exchange for a few days out of her cell. She needed to get information on a certain bounty exchange master manning the bounty station on a nearby village. The green-eyed shinobi listed one of the Kawagakure-nins as a probably source. After losing an entire day and night maintaining the headquarters' interior, Shiori wasted no time in getting down to business. She flirted shamelessly and treated the young man named Rui to a few shots of sake. It only took twenty minutes to get all the information she needed along with a rather scandalous scoop on a handful of clandestine affairs he had been having behind his wife's back. Now she needed to start moving out.

She eyed the two possible exits out of the beer house. Normally she would have simply excused herself and disappeared, never to be seen again. However Kawagakure was a small village. She figured that if she was going to be stuck in it for a long time, she needed to avoid suspicion and act like a respectable local, starting with a plausible excuse to scram.

"It's been a pleasure drinking with you Shiori-san but I'm afraid I have to clock out early," Rui said, running his index finger along her bare arm. Shiori nearly screamed. Instead, she crumpled her face into what she hoped would be a cute pout.

"But why, Rui-san? Am I boring you?" _'Yes. Go. Leave!'_

"I need to provide backup in a few hours. My comrades are raiding the mansion at the south side of the river this very moment."

'The south side?' Shiori thought to herself. 'Surely he doesn't mean-'

"Turns out it was being used as a hideout by a criminal group named the Akatsuki. It's made up of a handful of S-rank missing-nins from different shinobi villages. Highly dangerous motherfuckers."

There was a long pause between them. Shiori could only stare at him as her mind attempted to digest this new information. She toyed with her empty shot glass.

"So...if they're as dangerous as you say they are then...that makes it a dangerous mission then. Aren't you scared of what could happen should you encounter one of them?" It didn't take much to conclude that Rui was just an average shinobi. He had no match against Hidan or Kakuzu, much less the two of them together.

The Kawa-nin snorted at her dismissively. "We'll only be dealing with a couple of their minions, nothing we can't handle. We received intel that the two Akatsuki members manning that place had been sucessfully neutralized by Konoha-nins yesterday afternoon."

"Neutralized. As in-"

"Killed. Assassinated. Put down. I forgot you don't speak shinobi..."

Shiori could care less about what he had to say. She had last spoken to Kakuzu on Monday at the crack of dawn. It didn't even cross her mind then that that had been their last conversation. And now...now she had been left alone in a place she knew so little about.

Before she could think twice, she grabbed the bottle of sake and poured herself three consecutive shots to keep the panic at bay. Rui lifted an eyebrow at her.

"You okay?"

Shori met his gaze and forced out a smile. "It's been a pleasure drinking with you, Rui-san. Please, don't let me stop you from proceeding with your mission."

As soon as the shinobi left, Shiori asked for the bill and hurriedly went into the small alley behind the crowded shop. She needed fresh air and a time to think. The dark-haired girl sighed and leaned against the cool cement wall.

"You can't go back in there," she murmured to herself. "They'll find out if you do."

And yet, staying in the streets of Kawagakure didn't sound too enticing either, not when all she had were the clothes on her back and a few loose change. The rest of her belongings were still in the headquarters. She was stranded.

A shadow fell over her, blocking the mild heat of the late afternoon sun. Shiori looked up to find Rui looking down at her with a sinister grin plastered on his face.

"Rui-san, what is it?" she asked.

"I forgot to tell you once important thing. We know you're with them Shiori-san. Intel even has a file of you. It's quite a useful gift you have there."

Shiori was on the run in an instant. The surge of adrenaline was enough to sober her up and soon she was flying in the back alleys of the village center with Rui hot on her heels.

"Stop it right there!" he screamed at her. Shiori ran faster, moving towards more crowded placed to stop him from throwing shurikens at her.

"Watch it!"

"Hey!"

"What in the world-!"

"Sorry!" Shiori apologized at the people she had flung at Rui's path without slowing down her pace. She rounded into a quiet corner lined with wooden crates and garbage cans when somebody grabbed her onto one side. A hand clamped over her mouth, signalling her to be quiet.

"Keep still," a familiar deep voice whispered in her ear, its owner's warm breath sending chills down her spine.

'No way.'

Before she could do anything, the man turned her away from the main road. He kept her still with one arm tightening around her waist and the other pressing her back flush against his chest. The dark heavy fabric of his cloak kept her hidden from sight.

Their close proximity made Shiori's pulse pick up speed. His scent, his arms, his voice...she could recognize him anywhere.

Once Rui had gone past them, she wriggled out of his grip and turned to look at him. She was greeted with the three-tomoe Sharingan of none other than Uchiha Itachi. For a moment, all she could do was stare at him. He neither smiled nor frowned at her. She didn't expect him to.

"Itachi...how...?"

Itachi took in her features, memorizing the subtle changes that the months have brought to her before speaking up.

"We have to get you out of here. You're not safe yet."

Without waiting for a reply, he took her in his arms and the two flickered out of their hiding place.

* * *

They reappeared three kilometers away in one of the few elevated clearings scattered around the hidden village. Itachi settled her down on her feet and she immediately started pacing back and forth. The shinobi watched her quietly before slumping on the ground with his back against the trunk of a large tree.

"Is it true?" Shiori asked, her gaze quickly flicking at his direction before focusing back to her shoes. She had no idea how to act around him. "Kakuzu-san and Hidan-san..."

"It is," Itachi replied flatly. "We were able to confirm it early but had no means of stopping the news from spreading."

"Right. Of course it is or you wouldn't be here. Where's Kisame-san?"

"In the headquarters dealing with the wards. They have to be silenced or they'll talk. Those men hold no loyalty to their handlers."

"Yeah, I wonder why," Shiori murmured to herself before turning to face Itachi. "But there are Kawa-nins in there right now."

He gave her a half-grin, "He won't touch them if they don't come after him first."

Shiori looked away from him instinctively. She felt on edge, as though any sound or movement was enough to make her jump.

During the countless days she had been kept locked in her cell she had imagined how she would act around her former lover should he come to see her once again. She had imagined and rehearsed a handful of reactions: Nonchalant. Resentful. Angry. Very angry.

None of her planned reactions involved fumbling around like a nervous schoolgirl.

'He's just a boy, Shiori!' she scolded herself. 'Get your act together will you?'

She scratched on a wet patch on her back, thinking it was sweat that had soaked through. She was startled to see her hand come out bloody. Shiori flapped around, trying to find the source of the bleeding but found none.

"It's not mine. This blood isn't mine."

She paused on her tracks and her gaze fell on Itachi. He hadn't moved from his spot near the tree. A closer look showed that he actually looked paler and more gaunt than she rememered. There were dark rings under his heavy-lidded eyes and his breath was coming out in shallow puffs.

"Right. About that..."

"For Kami's sake, Itachi! Why didn't you say anything?!"

She had kneeled down in front of the young man and took his cloak off of him revealing a blood-stained mesh shirt. She glared at him.

"May I?"

Itachi nodded before looking away onto the horizon on his left. Shiori peeled his shirt upward, revealing glistening pale skin and a wound dressing on the left side of his ribcage. The dressing was soaked through with blood.

"Here goes," she warned him before peeling the bandages away. Though he didn't make a sound, the way his entire torso stiffened clued her in that he was in pain. A lot of it.

"The wound looks deep. It also looks like it's been there for a while."

Without skipping a beat, she reached for the first aid kit attached to his hip and started cleaning the offensive gash.

"I got it in Amegakure two nights ago. One of their shinobi nicked me with his kunai," he explained, hissing as the disinfectant seeped into the cut.

"Really? He sure got lucky."

Worry simmered at the pit of her stomach. It wasn't like him to have this kind of accident. Itachi was known for his counterattacks. A random kunai unaccounted by him was unheard of. Despite everything, Shiori kept these thoughts to herself. She was so immered with the task that she didn't even notice him staring.

Only Kami knew how he had longed for this moment, to be able to see her once again. It was odd in itself considering he was the one who pushed her away. The weekly updates from Kakuzu was only enough to stop him from bouncing against the walls but it did nothing to fill the gaping void she had unknowingly ripped inside him with her absence. Cheesy but true.

But perhaps the most difficult part for him had been to maintain the facade of indifference, particularly in front of Kisame who had come to know him better than any other member of the Akatsuki. Once the shark-man had asked him why he checked up on his ward every so often. Itachi explained to him that he wanted to be kept up-to-date with everything that he was in-charge of. It wasn't a far-off lie. He had always been meticulous.

 _"Perhaps you shouldn't have gotten rid of her in the first place," Kisame pointed out. Itachi knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to get him to spill. But without a straight confession from him, the older shinobi couldn't prove anything._

 _"She slows us down. We don't need that kind of burden if we're going to be hunting tailed-beasts."_

 _"Try saying that more convincingly and maybe I'll believe you," the swordsman teased but decided to drop the subject._

It took a lot from him but it worked. Keeping up his facade meant suspicions had been kept at bay. He managed to keep both of them safe.

He's also had enough of facades.

He brought his left hand under her chin and gently tilted her face up towards him, stopping her on her tracks.

Shiori gave him a small smile. With his Sharingan deactivated, he looked younger and more vulnerable than he normally looked. She hated to admit it but she found her anger chipping away the longer she looked at those puppy eyes.

'Remember Shiori, you're mad. Angry. Indignant.'

"We need to talk," he said.

"Damn right we do. We needed that talk months ago." She cupped his cheek with one hand. "But first things first, we need to patch you up."

She frowned when she looked down and saw that the gauze was beginning to soak through yet again.

"This can't be right," she said. "The bleeding hasn't stopped."

"That's because he's been poisoned."

Kisame appeared from behind the thick bushes surrounding the clearing. Unlike Itachi, he looked exactly as she remembered him even down to his sword, the Samehada which growled menacingly on his back.

Shiori blinked at him a couple of times before shifting her gaze back and forth between him and Itachi.

"Poison? Poison-are you kidding me?"

The younger shinobi looked at his partner disapprovingly.

Kisame continued, "Yes Shio-chan. The kunai that wounded him was dipped in poison, the kind that prevents wounds from closing up. Nice to see you as excitable as ever."

"Please tell me you have a good reason for not seeking help immediately."

Her nerves caused her to press on Itachi's wound a little too hard. This time he flinched.

"Hey."

"We were on our way to the Grass Country border to meet up with Sora-san when we received news about the Zombie Combo dying...for real. Itachi-san here insisted we head south and deal with the situation first."

"Those wards would talk the first chance they get and we were the only ones within the vicinity to deal with them. Dealing with a risk before it turns into a problem is always more effective than damage control." Itachi droned. He caught Shiori's wrists before she could skewer him with another one of her fingers.

Kisame nodded in agreement, unaware of the little power-struggle between the couple. "You were right. One of the wards had actually started singing when I got there. No matter, that's been sorted now."

"And the Kawa-nins?" Itachi inquired.

"I had to take two down. They heard too much."

The partners nodded in agreement, pleased with how their mission went. They turned back to Shiori who had finished dressing the wound and was now putting the excess materials back in the first aid pouch.

"Great," she chirped icily. "Where were we...oh yes," she gave Itachi a pointed look. "Poison."

The Uchiha sighed, pressing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Sora-san knows about the delay. She agreed to meet us at the northern border instead. It's only a two-hour trek from here."

"Then let's go and meet her," she replied. "Preferrably before you bleed to death."

Shiori volunteered to fill their canteens before the start of the journey. As Kisame helped his partner up to his feet, he whispered to him.

"Is it me or has Hidan's annoying tone rubbed on her?"

Itachi didn't reply. He hoped to Kami it will wear off of her soon.

* * *

 **Writer's Notes:**

First of all my apologies. I have been terrible at updating this piece. I was stuck for a long time tbh. It was like my brain came to a grinding halt and for the longest time I couldn't connect the events together. It sucked. Now this is me trying to pick up where we left off, desperately taking the characters from one milestone to another.

Damage Control is the first part of what had been a super long chapter which came out of nowhere months after the dreaded writer's block stopped me from writing anything. Quality-wise I'd let you guys decide. It would mean much if you let me know about what you have to say in the reviews.

That being said, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Trivia: Everything clicked into place after listening to Amber Run one lazy afternoon. The next chapter will be named after one of their more well-known songs.


	24. Mangekyo

**Author's Note 1.0:** You know what I said about naming this chapter after a band's song? Well...it didn't happen. I'll tell you why... Oh and Kishi owns everything.

* * *

The trip to Kawagakure's northern border was agonizingly slow. By the time they saw the old medic-nin standing outside the minshuku, Itachi was more than ready to pass out.

After an exasperated "Unbelievable" from Sora, Kisame and Shiori quickly ushered the shinobi into one of the empty rooms and stripped him down to his trousers. Sora quickly went to work, kneeling before him to begin her scan. Itachi shuddered as a warm sensation pulsated from his forehead going down.

"I'm checking to see how far the poison has gone," Sora explained to him, her voice sounding far and faint to the nearly unconscious young man.

"Hoshikagi, talk to me," she ordered. "What the hell happened? Shiori make yourself useful and get some water from the well outside. The colder the better."

With his eyes closed, Itachi used his ears to try and keep track of what was happening around him. There was the sound of hurried footsteps from what he could only assume as Shiori scrambling to her task. Kisame's garbled voice echoed from afar.

"Since when did you become a klutz, Itachi-kun?" Sora asked almost mockingly.

"It happened after he used the Mangekyo..."

Itachi pursed his lips in frustration. He didn't blame his partner. He knew Sora needed to know every detail there is in order to treat him properly. Unfortunately, he also knew that she was going to be very pissed once she heard that he had been doing the very thing she had begged him not to do.

The Amegakure bounty mission ought to have been straightforward had it not been for the two dozen Ame-nins who showed up unexpectedly just as him and Kisame were leaving. A skirmish ensued which lasted until evening. Sometime during the bloodbath, a falcon was released, taking with it an urgent request for backup. Itachi knew that the special ops would be called in once the head jonins found out who they were up against. He had to act fast. And he did.

The Amaterasu he casted caused a chorus of tortured cries followed by the unmistakable stench of burning flesh. The sound of weapons clashing against metal diminished and the amount of chakra signatures surrounding him dwindled from eighteen to four, including Kisame. He had done it. They had won.

And then the pain began. The pain on his bleeding right eye paled in comparison to the hell that was coursing through the rest of him. He couldn't even cry out as a piercing sensation stabbed him over the heart, paralyzing his left arm and making his jaw numb. He had lost the ability to breath and he found himself starved of oxygen, losing consciousness fast. He could hear Kisame from a distance.

 _"Itachi! Behind you!"_

Dark eyes flew open, surveying the small room with its tatami mats and lone sliding door. It seemed to him like he had only nodded off for a few minutes and yet the view of the dark sky from the window clued him that at least some hours had passed. The room was bathed in a green hue and a small whistling sound was emitted by Sora's Mystic Palm Technique. Sighing heavily, Itachi forced his leaden head to turn left towards the source of the warm chakra he sensed, the only solace his delirious mind could cling onto.

Shiori's fingers had grown stiff and blue from the iced water she had been working with since that afternoon. As soon as Sora started treating him, she had warned her that Itachi's body was at risk of overheating once she began to collect the poison particles in his bloodstream towards their entry point, the wound on his side. Her task was to counter the medic-nin's jutsu with cold. And she hadn't stopped since. Shiori was surprised to find Itachi looking up at her. His gaze was unfocused, shifting from one spot in the room to another and then back to her.

"Water," he rasped. His throat felt so dry it hurt.

"Sora-san, he's awake!" Shiori exclaimed. She quickly brought a soaked piece of cloth to his lips which he drained eagerly.

"But not for long," Sora replied, looking away from her working space to look at Shiori. "This is going to hurt so bad he wished somebody shoved his sorry ass into a Tsukoyomi. Keep him distracted."

"I heard that," he murmured, alarmed.

Shiori threw her washcloth into a nearby bucket and cupped Itachi's face with both hands, gently wiping strands of wet hair away from his eyes.

"Look at me Itachi," she urged him. "Hey."

"You." He narrowed his eyes at her. "After everything I did to you, you're still here."

"Why wouldn't I be? You need my help for once so don't expect me to pass." Shiori forced herself to smile, ignoring the way her vision blurred with unshed tears. "Now stop being so stubborn and do as I say. Look at me and only me."

As soon as his pulse lowered to normal, Sora tugged and let her chakra pull the metalloid poison out from Itachi's wound.

Pain unlike any other that he had experienced erupted from his side and a tortured scream ripped out of his throat.

"Sora-san!" Shiori pleaded.

"Keep him still!" The medic-nin barked. Her task became a lot trickier with her patient trying to wriggle away from her. Sora decided she needed to speed things up and pulled harder.

Just as Itachi thought he was in the worst pain possible, a sharp tug at his side intensified the torture he was already in. This time he couldn't even find it in himself to scream. White exploded in his vision. He was oblivious to everything but the pain. It was all he could hear and touch and feel.

"Itachi stay with me!"

Using all of his remaining strength, he reached out and held on to Shiori. The dark-haired girl gasped as Itachi's deathgrip crushed her left wrist. She heard something crunch and could only pray that he didn't break anything. His writhing made it difficult for her to concentrate. More than once she had slipped, making Itachi's pain her pain as well. Those split second glances made her doubt how something so excrutiating could actually be life-saving. No wonder he was more than ready to jump out of his skin.

"Let me go!" he screamed. To Shiori's horror, Itachi's irises began to glow red. The three tomoe on each eye circled around his pupils rapidly before merging with them in the form of a pinwheel. It was the first time she saw the Mangekyo Sharingan up close. To say that she was terrified was the understatement of the century.

"You're...you're..." She couldn't finish her sentence. Unable to cope, she slipped and found herself looking through his eyes.

Despite the agony caused by Sora's ninjutsu, the world around her was a hundred times sharper from Itachi's perspective. She could see everything, every dust particle on the ceiling and every pore on the hands resting on his cheeks. And when he looked up she came face to face with herself, all sweaty brows and messy hair. Her bun had come undone from the struggle and it had fallen into a limp ponytail over her shoulder. Her gray eyes were round and wide while her lips were stuck in an "O". Through the haze, Itachi's consciousness kicked in and realized what was happening. He had unknowingly activated the Mangekyo Sharingan and had paralyzed Shiori with fear because of it. He was also aware that she was reading him. He could see wisps of her chakra leaking out of her body, indicating that she had lost control just as he had lost his own.

'Shiori I know you're here,' he thought. 'I am so sorry. I never meant for all of this to happen.'

He closed his eyes, turning in to himself. 'Get out of my head.'

The gray-eyed girl broke out of his consciousness and slammed back into her own as soon as the Sharingan was out of sight. Shiori gasped and worked double time to reel parts of her chakra back inside her.

"For a moment I thought I lost you both," Sora said, her gaze never leaving the poison's entry point. "What happened? I felt a surge of chakra from him."

Shiori blinked away the tears before she replied, "It was the Mangekyo."

There was a long pause as Sora thought frantically for an alternative, another way to make it easier for him. She stole a glance at Itachi. His eyes were squeezed shut and his face was stuck in a grimace, fighting yet another battle alone. This time his greatest weapon became an obstacle that stopped him from getting much-needed help.

"Then he's going to have to wing all by himself-"

"No he won't," Shiori cut her. "Not with this one. Not anymore."

Gray eyes took on the image of steel as she came to her final decision. Once again she looked down at Itachi. She pulled her left wrist away from his grip. His hand desperately grasped at thin air before she caught it with hers, locking their fingers together.

"Itachi, I know you can hear me. And I want to tell you that it's okay. You don't have to fight alone. We're here with you and we are not going anywhere. _I'm_ not going anywhere. Look at me."

With her right thumb, she rubbed away the lone tear that escaped this scrunched up eyelids.

"Look at me."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. I know it. And I trust you."

Reluctantly, his eyes fluttered open. The red glare of the Mangekyo was intense and menacing and yet Shiori didn't dare look away. It wasn't that hard for her, for she realized that as much as they looked dangerous, they were also beautiful.

"Sora-san is going to get that shitty poison out of you. It's going to be painful but I'll be with you until it's done. I'll even let you scream my ears off."

"Why?" he asked. His confusion was etched on his face along with the pain. "Why constantly put yourself in harm's way for a demon like me?"

"Because we look out for each other. Because that's what we've been doing even though neither of us want to admit it. Because you matter to me."

"You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"Dead serious. Aren't you?"

"Hn."

He smiled then, a smile so wide and genuine that for a moment it felt as though everything was how it should be. Shiori had never been as certain as she was at that moment. She loved him.

Taking advantage of the calm that fell over the two, Sora gave one last tug until the metal droplets leaked out of his skin.

"I got it!" she exclaimed, holding the little globules in front of her with her chakra before proceeding to dump it into the metal basin beside her.

Itachi reacted in a similar way to a jinchuriki whose tailed beast had just been extracted from him. Almost immediately his irises turned to its natural obsidian black. His eyelids fluttered shut and he grew limp. He was out cold. Shiori released the coiled chakra she had struggled to contain by slamming her palms on the tatami mats. It created a six-inch-wide fissure which ran the entire length of the room. Sora was too drained to be surprised. Besides, Kisame was collecting payment for the bounty mission anyway. Once he learns that his partner will be back in business soon, she was sure that he would be more than happy to pay for the damages.

For a moment, Sora and Shiori could only look at each other, both aware of the monumental success they had just witnessed as well as just how close they had come to failing. To losing Itachi prematurely. It was the younger girl who broke the spell. She dragged her entire body to face left so that she was kneeling right in front of the medic-nin. She folded her hands to her lap, pausing as she waited for them to stop shaking before she tilted her upper body downward into a bow.

"Thank you," she said, trying hard to keep her voice steady and failing miserably amidst the tears.

"You stupid girl," Sora murmured, scooping her into a bear hug. The gesture only made her sob more.

"Thank you Sora-san. You did it. You saved him."

"No, _we_ did it. He'll be fine. He just needs to sleep off the chakra exhaustion is all."

Despite her words of reassurance, she couldn't help but cast a worried glance over Shiori's shoulders onto the sleeping young man. She may have prolonged his life by taking the poison out but she knew in her heart that she had not saved him. At this point, she doubted that anything could.

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2.0:** IDK WTH happened. This scene was meant to be short, less than 1000 words, and was supposedly just another scene in a chapter. But for some reason it just expanded. The characters and their actions became more detailed and it would be a shame not to write everything down. Penning a delirious Itachi is another pain in the booty because everyone who knows this character is well aware at how incredibly well he keeps it together. It's weird writing him to make it sound like he was a little out of it but not too much because...heck he's Itachi. I love that Sora was in this the whole time. She is a joy to write. Shiori growing balls (metaphorical ones) here is an added bonus. Much like JK Rowling made an effort to make Ginny an equal and worthy match to Harry, I am also making a whole lot of effort to make her believable while pairing well with our favorite Uchiha. Let's admit it, no one is good enough for Itachi but we can sure as hell try.

And...we are already in chapter twenty-something. I've been going easy on driving the Feels Truck throughout the first chapters but at this rate, I think Shio and Itachi's relationship is established well enough to warrant a shift to second gear... I think fluff is unavoidable so we might witness a couple of it soon. Anyways, thank you for everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed. You guys are the reason I keep going with this piece. Hope to hear from you.


	25. I Found

Itachi was no stranger to nightmares. He doubted any shinobi was. His only got more intense after joining ANBU. And for a while, right after the massacre, they became nearly unbearable. All of a sudden, the faceless men who fell under his katana morphed into the faces of his mother and father and cousins and relatives whom he was taught to protect at all costs. Throughout the years, the themes of his nightmares didn't change and he had grown immune to them, feeling nothing but a slight tinge of guilt for all the lives he had taken. People in Konoha had called him a monster. And in a way they were right.

That night his dream took an unexpected turn. Pain showed up. He told Itachi what he already knew, that he committed a very dangerous blunder by growing attached to his ward.

"You have fallen short of my expectations, Itachi. Surely a genius like you should have known better. Or perhaps, you have forgotten. In that case, let me remind you."

"Itachi," she called out to him quietly.

He spun around and saw a wide-eyed Shiori looking back at him, trembling with terror from head to foot. Behind her, towering over her stood a man who looked so much like him, with spiky dark hair and dark eyes which held nothing but loathing for him.

"It's me you want, Sasuke," he said to him. His voice was steady despite the thunderstorm in his chest. "Killing her won't gain you anything."

"Hn," the younger Uchiha scoffed. He couldn't lie to him. Sasuke knew he was scared.

"Maybe not. But you would lose everything, wouldn't you? That's good enough for me."

Without missing a beat, Shiori lurched forward as Sasuke's chidori punched a hole through her chest.

* * *

Itachi literally woke up in a blind panic. Echoes of the dream still flashed before his eyes amidst the shadowy blur of neutrals and greens. Despite logic telling him that it wasn't real, the irrational part of him had to see it for himself, to see with his own eyes that bad karma had not turned his nightmare into reality with Shiori dead and mutilated. It was also that very moment that his eyes decided not to cooperate.

"Calm down," Sora's voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw a shadow make its way towards him. On instinct, his Sharingan activated, restoring his vision to normal.

Sora gasped, pausing in her tracks as the Uchiha's eyes flashed red. Though she had seen it a number of times, she still couldn't shake off the unnerving fear that came over her when facing the Sharingan.

"That bad huh," she said, kneeling down in front of him.

"I could barely see _anything_ ," he replied, clearly agitated with the turn of events.

"May I?" Sora asked before placing her hands on his temples. A green light emanated from her hands as she tried to assess the damage on his optic nerves.

"She's fine by the way."

"Who?"

"Your ward. You called out to her right before you woke up. She's next door fast asleep. Kami knows she needs to."

"Sora-san..." Itachi paused, unsure of how to proceed. "Pain-sama cannot find out. Or Sasuke."

"Or anybody. And I agree with you. Why do you think I stayed with you until you came around? To make sure you don't say stupid things in front of the wrong people."

Itachi knew there was no denying it to Sora. He remembered bits and pieces of what happened last night. Amidst the insanity-inducing pain he remembered words being exchanged, words that cannot be unheard. They say dead men tell no lies. He got a bit carried away and played the honesty card too early. He made a mental note to be more thorough when facing his otouto.

Sora finished her assessment and allowed her hands to drop to her sides. The look on her face was like an omen.

"I'm assuming it's bad," Itachi said. When she didn't reply he chuckled mirthlessly. "No pun intended but I saw this coming. A fair price for all the power that the Mangekyo has bestowed upon me."

Sora met his gaze. This time his eyes were black once again. "That's not the worst of your problems."

From the pouch hanging on her belt, Sora took out three bottles of pills. "I asked the owner's son to order these from the chemist while you slept. You're at the maximum dose now. Itachi," she took his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "You know what that means, don't you?"

Itachi took one of the bottles and rolled it against his palm. "Once my heart stops responding to these, it's over."

"Right. And at the rate that you're using that cursed dojutsu, you're speeding up the process of killing your poor heart. We're talking months. That's all you're left with. Make them count."

* * *

Despite being around S-rank shinobi for years, it was only over a month ago that Shiori threw her first kunai. She talked herself into doing it, telling herself that if people were going to keep leaving her behind then she would have to learn how to look after herself. However, just like with chakra control she had a lot to learn. It didn't take a shinobi to tell that her aim was poor. Eight times out of ten the kunai she threw ended up slapping horizontally against the target rather than hitting it at its pointy end. With Itachi and Kisame preoccupied with extracting tailed beasts and bounty missions, Shiori had no choice but to figure out the gist of kunai-throwing on her own.

That evening she did just that. For the thirtieth time she heard the dull clank of metal against wood and watched as the weapon clattered to the ground. With a defeated sigh, she went after her lone apparatus.

"Itachi!" she exclaimed, suprised to see her handler standing in front of her as soon as she turned around to get back to her spot.

The taller Uchiha nodded at her in greeting, allowing a small smile to grace his lips.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, placing her hands on his arms, kunai forgotten on the ground.

"I've been better," he admitted, taking in her appearance. It was obvious that the past few months had not been kind to the both of them. Both appeared paler and more gaunt than they looked when they left Shimogakure.

An awkward silence fell between the two. Shiori dropped her hands to her side and stepped back, feeling embarrased. It wasn't that long ago when she bared her soul to him out of panic. His lack of reaction, even until now, made her wonder it if had been a wise thing to do.

"Anyway," she started. "It's good to see you. It would've been better if it were under different circumstances though."

 _'Like if you had come to me because you wanted to rather than to protect valuable Akatsuki-related information.'_

"I agree with you," he replied. "However all things considered, we have a lot to talk about."

"Oh yeah?" Her hearbeat jumpstarted in her chest. This was it. Finally they were going to talk about-

"You haven't given to me your mission reports yet."

" _What?!_ " she spat out in disbelief. "What mission reports?"

"Before he was neutralized, Hidan-san mentioned a number of errands you were doing for him and Kakuzu-san. Surprisingly, I wasn't made aware of his before hand."

"Because they weren't official missions, just stuff I did to get out of that dusty cellar they locked us in. The only official one I went in was the one with Konan-san."

Itachi raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "You haven't made a report about that either."

"Well it's not like I remembered you dropping by to say hi," she bit back. She had to admit, Itachi had a knack for making her fly off the handle using as few words as possible.

Seemingly unfazed by her emerging temper, he motioned at a lone bench on one corner of the large yard.

"You have a lot of talking to do. Shall we start?"

Without waiting for her, Itachi made his way towards it. Shiori picked up her dull kunai and trailed after him.

"Whoever thought poison would slow you down surely had it all wrong."

* * *

Itachi only listened half-heartedly as Shiori tried to recount as much of her so-called missions as she could. Barter missions. Intel-gathering missions. Surveying missions. He didn't really care. Truth be told he just wanted to talk to her. He had a plan on how to approach her once he caught her blurred figure lamely aiming at a nearby tree. However that quickly went out of the window once she faced him and he felt the proverbial butterflies start a riot in his stomach. He talked less for fear of sounding like a fool. He was still a proud Uchiha after all and Uchihas did not stutter. He figured that the surefire way to get a hold of his nerves was to venture into familiar territory such as death, destruction, and mandatory reports.

He let Shiori do all the talking while he decided on the best way to approach the subject they had been dancing around for so long. Then he started having doubts on whether he would approach it in the first place. He remembered his dream and the danger he would put her in once people would find out.

'She's already associated to you as your ward. She had been in constant danger since the first day you met her,' a voice in his head pointed out.

On one side, he only had months left to live. The selfish part of him didn't want to take this secret with him to the grave. On another side, he had given Shiori a way out by breaking up with her. He didn't want to take her chance at freedom by admitting his feelings to her and obliging her to reciprocate them.

"The pervert only knew him by the name of Shu, much like everyone else did. He runs his own butcher shop in Kawagishi village. Best meat in town from what Rui gathered. But for you guys, the more interesting part is the business deals he does in the shop's basement. It's where the bounty station is located."

"Impressive. All that information from just one kiss?" he asked curiously.

Shiori cringed. "No. I held on his arm like an extra appendage for a couple of minutes. I mean, the guy thinks he's a hot shot so he didn't suspect a thing...I thought he didn't anyway...Not like that matters now." She twiddled her thumbs before continuing. "Anything else you want to talk about?"

They stared at each other for along time, both painfully aware of what she meant. Shiori quietly begged for him to breach the subject. Holding everthing back was suffocating her.

"Itachi-"

"Thank you. That would be all. We should head back inside. It's getting late. You're leaving with Konan-san at dawn, are you not?"

She nodded, refusing to break eye contact. She couldn't do this anymore, pretend that those feelings didn't exist when it was all she could think about.

 _'Talk to me please.'_

"I'll walk you to your room."

He stood up and turned his back on her, facing the pale yellow lights of the quiet minshuku up ahead. Shiori also stood up and bored holes on his back.

"I really was over him, you know."

Itachi had taken one step before freezing like a statue, his eyes wide with surprise.

She took a deep breath and continued, "Sure, going back to Shimo brought back a lot of memories but that doesn't mean I want to relive them. So much has changed-no- _everything_ changed after Iwagakure. I saw everything you had to share and it made me realize why you matter so much to me. I love you, Itachi."

It felt like someone squeezed all the air out of her. She had lost the ability to breathe in the long silence that followed her confession. That was it. There was no going back. The hardest part was she had no idea how Itachi was going to react to it. He didn't turn to look at her and instead, continued to stare straight ahead.

"Don't forget your kunai."

He made his way towards the minshuku and Shiori followed right behind him. She felt an odd combination of relief and humiliation which was dulled by the shock from the coldness of his reply.

She had anticipated two things to happen. Either he was going to reciprocate that love or reject her right then and there. She knew he was capable of doing both. The unexpected reply was like a bucket of water that tipped over head and it left her jaw hanging. A dull throbbing began at the pit of her stomach. She wanted to throw up. She only snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that they had reached the door leading to her room. She could feel him looking at her, perhaps feeling sorry for the foolish girl who misread everything. The thought made her burn with shame even more. She had to get away.

Quickly, she stepped into the room and slid the door close behind her when an arm stuck out between the panels. She looked up to meet his gaze, defeat written all over her face. He had an unreadable expression as his dark eyes searched hers.

"I know," he said.

"...What?"

"I know. I overheard your conversation with Miyako-san. Later that day, when I told you about my plan to send you to Kawagakure, you assumed that I was acting out of resentment. I let you because it was easier that way...less chaotic than if I told you the truth."

"What's the truth, Itachi?" she whispered, her mind struggling to come to terms with what he was saying. _'He knew all this time and he still sent me away?'_

 _"_ That I wanted to forget about you."

His voice faltered, just a tiny hitch at the last word but she noticed. Itachi looked away.

"You...have consumed me. I couldn't stop thinking about you and those thoughts were taking over everything...my plans, my goals...Shimogakure proved that you've made me lose my self-control too. It was only a matter of time before people would start noticing. I knew I had to get rid of you before that happened. I thought that in doing so I could forget about you."

Shiori sighed in disbelief. "Well...did it work?"

When he met her gaze she saw a pair of matured Sharingan staring back at her. Itachi shook his head.

"Not even close."

His lips crashed onto hers before either of them realized what was happening. Unlike the few kisses they had shared before this was needy, angry, and all-consuming. Nothing about it felt enough. As their tongues fought for domination, all they could think of was 'more'.

Itachi stepped inside her room and deftly closed the door behind him. Without breaking the kiss, he maneuvered the two of them towards the center of the room. The back of Shiori's heel hit the futon, knocking her off-balance. With a surprised squeal, she dragged the both of them down with Itachi landing on top of her. His elbows stopped his entire weight from crushing her.

"Are you okay?" she whispered worriedly, noticing him wince. She had seen Sora close the wound on his side but she did mention that he was going to be sore for the next few days.

"Stop worrying about me," he replied.

"I'll always worry about you and you know why."

He looked down at her, Sharingan on to try and take in every detail of her. Though much of his upper weight was supported with his elbows, his lower body was pressed flush against her hips making blood from his center crawl up to his head. His neck flushed red. His breaths came out in warm puffs.

"I couldn't tell you then...I can't tell you now..."

"Then show me."

Shiori's gaze landed on his link necklace, a gift he received from Juzo on his fourteenth birthday, the first birthday he spent with the Akatsuki. With a shaking hand, she hooked her index finger on the necklace's chain and tugged him downwards until his lips softly met hers. This time she didn't hold back.

 _She came face-to-face with herself from three years ago. She had been smiling widely at Miyako. The smile faltered when her old self turned to look at her, or rather, Itachi. He had cocked his head to the left while beside him, Kisame nudged him teasingly with his elbow._

 _She blinked once and then her head snapped sharply to the side. Along with it came a sharp sting on her cheek. Again it was her younger self throwing punches towards her (or Itachi). She noticed his gloved hands stopping her attacks before he knocked her off balance._

 _"I hate what I've become because you!"_

 _She didn't know it then but despite not showing signs of emotions, guilt gnawed at him from within._

 _'Too bad. I like you just the way you are.'_

 _The thought rang so clearly inside his head that it startled her as much as it surprised him. Shiori would never know if this was the first time he had these kinds of thoughts about her but it was the frist time he experienced that lack of self-control which he had been hell-bent on avoiding. As he neared his lips towards hers, he had the most unusual urge to kiss her. He fought against it just in time._

 _"Brilliant people oftentimes turn into fools when emotions come into play."_

 _Sora's somber look appeared in front of her. It was during the aftermath of the mission she did with Deidara and Sasori._

 _"Her safety depends on how well you keep your emotions in check. Make sure Pain-sama never finds out."_

 _At one point he had been confident enough to think that Sora was overreacting. He knew himself more than anybody. He was trained to lie and keep his emotions under lock and key even in his sleep._

 _Overlapping with the memories of Sora's warning were those of Mikoto's dressing him up when he was still very young._

 _"-because first and foremost you are an Uchiha. We feel emotions a bit more than other people do. That's why we end up loving too much. Personally I don't find anything wrong with that. This world needs all the love it can get."_

 _His small chubby arms wrapped themselves around Mikoto's waist and he buried his face on her shirt. By the time he pulled away, he was in a small room in the outskirts of Earth country. Standing in front of him was her own reflection from over a year ago. She looked more jaded but also more determined to get her point across._

 _"Uchiha Itachi, you can't expect me to just stand and watch because you matter to me too!"_

 _'...But I'm going to be the death of you.'_

 _Still, despite knowing her feelings for him, he tried to do what he thought was right. He alienated her to keep her safe. He refused to talk to her. He dragged Kisame into more volunteer missions to keep his mind busy. It only helped a little. Much to Shiori's surprise, she could see images of her pop up in the most random places while he did the most mundane of things. Once she saw her frowning face flash across his eyes while he was in bed with another woman. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't flattered. But she was also spooked._

Shiori snapped out of her trance to find Itachi nuzzling her neck. His left thumb drew lazy circles on her shoulder where the sleeve of her yukata had slipped off. She shivered at his warm touch.

"All this time?" she asked shakily.

He pulled away to meet her gaze. He had a furious blush running down the length of his cheeks and his eyes had a glint in them, a look that quickened her pulse.

"I thought I could fight it. I was determined to. There was too much at stake..."

His eyes trailed down to her chest. Her bra was exposed, the only piece of clothing that was between her and his bare hands. Feeling bold all of a sudden, Shiori took his hand and guided it beneath the undergarment to rest directly over the curve of her breast. She lifted her head and kissed him fervently.

 _It didn't take long for him to realize that he was losing the fight against his impulses. The more he stayed away from her, the more restless he got. Some days it was all he could think about. It was a growing obsession. And he realized with much fear and disbelief that the only way to get rid of this was to give in. Their first kiss in Iwagakure was as much of a game changer for him as it was for her. There was no denying his feelings to himself after that._

"I need you now..." she could hear him whisper from afar. A warm hand caressed the inside of her thigh and she moaned before losing herself in another memory.

 _It was of him and Kisame watching her, Kakuzu, and Hidan move further away from the both of them. From the heavy cloaks they had on, she was guessing it was right after they left Shimogakure._

 _"Of course I regret this," Kisame spat back. "She was useful to have around. Not to mention she can haggle."_

 _"She's a burden we cannot afford right now," Itachi replied calmly despite feeling physically sick all of a sudden. He blamed the sudden shift in the climate. Kisame sighed and shrugged._

 _"Too bad. She makes you likeable."_

 _"Likeable?"_

 _"Well you're the genius. I'm sure you'll figure out why."_

She floated back to reality and was greeted with butterfly kisses which were punctuated by a lingering kiss on her lips. She turned to see her left hand pinned beside her head, her fingers intertwined with his. A small smile graced her lips. He never said it out loud. Knowing Itachi, he probably never will. But his memories gave her unprecedented access to his thoughts and it was there, everywhere she looked, especially during the months following Shimogakure. Now after seeing everything, she had all the proof she needed.

"I made a mistake," he murmured, voice huskier than it was earlier.

"I never should have pushed you away like that. You're _my_ ward. I should be the one keeping you safe."

Shiori nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. And I love you too, Itachi."

A cat-like grin spread across his face which disappeared behind a flurry of fabric and limbs. Shiori had pulled his shirt over his head, chuckling when the neckline got stuck under his chin.

As soon as he freed himself from the restricting fabric, his hands deftly undid the obi on her yukata, exposing the smooth olive skin of her belly. Bare legs wrapped themselves around his waist and with one move of her hips he had lost his inhibitions.

The minutes ticked away until there was nothing that stood between the two of them. This time there was nothing to hide. Both were at their most vulnerable and they wouldn't have it any other way. As the evening lights were doused and the small village fell into slumber, the two lovers became one, moving in harmony with each other. Shiori kept herself afloat from the influx of his memories by staring into his eyes. The Sharingan which used to fill her with so much fear now became her anchor in this moment in time that she was so desperate to stay in.

There was no other way to say it. Itachi felt good. With one hand he lifted her hips off the futon. Both groaned in unison as he went deeper inside her. Shiori dug her nails on the slick skin of his back while he buried his face on the crook of her neck. His quiet sighs were further muffled by her hair.

His hips moved faster, a telltale sign that he was nearing his climax.

"Look at me," she gasped, taking his face with her hands as they continued their rhythm.

"Remember," he whispered.

Of course she would. How could she not? That night he gave all of himself to her. That night, he wasn't Itachi of Konoha or Itachi of the Akatsuki. He was simply her Itachi. And in the cruel world they lived in, that one night was the most that she could hope for.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** (bumps rating to M) Sorry kiddos. Had to be done. As for the last bit, it was bound to happen sooner or later...hopefully I've given that scene justice (both in the way it was written and with the support of scenes which happened prior to that). Didn't want it to be too explicit because heck I do not want to turn my the characters into porntarts...Also, I wanted to use it as a platform for the two characters to express their love for each other openly. Coz as you can tell by now these two aren't exactly saps and don't express affection that readily. Anyways, if I don't make sense right now it's prolly because it's 6:30 in the morning and I haven't slept the whole night. Hahaha!

Reviews would be appreciated. Seriously guys don't keep me in the friggin dark. Talk.


	26. Certain Things

In one of the merchant villages in Rain Country lived a woman named Megumi. She worked as a bartender in a seedy sake shop located in its central district. With dark hair, dark eyes, and her signature dark lipstick, she exuded an air of someone who was immune to intimidation. It made the shop's most troublesome patrons think twice of harassing her. And they should. What the locals didn't know was the Megumi was actually a rogue kunoichi from Takigakure. Majority of her earnings came from working as a sleeper agent for one of Akatsuki's most formidable members: Hoshikagi Kisame.

That late afternoon, her handler dropped by for a visit just as he said he would in the falcon he had sent days earlier. And just as she hoped, he brought with him his handsome partner. After instructing the newly-trained bartender to man the drinks, she led the two into a table located in a secluded corner of the shop.

"Nice to see you Kisame-san. And you too Itachi-kun," she said with a wink. "My, my, talk about puberty done right. Handsome doesn't even cut it. This godforsaken hellhole could use an eyecandy like you every once in a while."

"Good afternoon to you too, Megumi-san," Kisame greeted. Itachi merely bowed quietly.

"Look, we can't stay long," the swordsman started. "Tell us what you know."

Two weeks ago he had asked her to gather information on the possible whereabouts of a man named Roshi. He was a shinobi from Iwagakure who decided to leave his hidden village to become a wanderer. He was also identified as the jinchuuriki of the four-tails, which made him Kisame's target.

"Lucky for you, Roshi the Wanderer wandered into this very bar barely a month ago," Megumi replied. "He was cute. Could do without that ridiculous ginger beard though. And he was a bore to talk to. Never said more than two sentences at once."

Megumi poured a shot of sake and handed it to Itachi, who took it with a thankful bow.

"Did he mention anything that could clue us in on his current whereabouts?" the dark-haired shinobi asked. The kunoichi merely grinned at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You know the drill 'tachi," Kisame said. "Drink up."

Itachi said nothing and downed the drink in one go. He settled the shot glass on the talbe and smirked back at Megumi.

"Atta boy," she sang before continuing. "It took a while but I managed to squeeze out a clue of where he's headed. Roshi-san wants to go somewhere to hone his skills. From what you told me, he specializes in Lava Release. Jutsus like that are better honed by practising amidst large boulders. I have enough reason to believe that he's heading west for the quarries of Stone Country."

"Another agent reported that he was spotted visiting the Tsuchikage six weeks ago. If he had come from Earth Country, why not head straight south for Stone rather than making a detour for Rain?" Kisame asked.

While her handler spoke, Megumi had poured another drink of sake and handed it to Itachi. Before she could pull back her hands, he took her wrists and gave them a firm squeeze.

"Megumi-san, if I drink this, I want to make sure it counts."

Holding on to her left wrist, he tilted his head back and downed the drink before pressing it against her palm and curling her fingers over it.

"Talk," he ordered, abruptly letting go of her.

"Gotta love Uchiha men," she sighed. "Because of border control. For decades now, Earth has been salty towards Stone. It all comes down to politics. I don't know the details but it's enough to make Earth Country take extra security measures to make sure that what's theirs remains theirs. Think about it. The Earth daimyo would have a massive stroke if he finds out that one of his country's weapon for mass destruction is seen waltzing into enemy territory. Assuming he wants to avoid drama, he enters the country's borders through Rain. This place is far too deep in its own mess to be of any threat to Stone so they are more lenient. And just in case my awesome deduction skills cannot convince you, I followed him all the way to the border. Saw him go past it myself."

Kisame snorted. "You could've skipped all that story time if you had just told us that beforehand."

"And cut precious quality time with my boss and his hot colleague? I wouldn't dream of it."

Kisame took a few more drinks from her before declaring that they had to start moving. It would be nightfall soon and they had yet to find a place to stay.

"You can stay over at my place. I'm sure I got room for two more," Megumi offered, winking at Itachi.

"Thank you Megumi-san but it's wiser to head west and find shelter there. That way, we cover more ground," he replied.

"Tsk. Such a shame. Oh well, if you change your mind, all you gotta do is knock."

* * *

The western part of Rain Country was more rural. Houses and buildings were far in between and stretches of its roads were lit with nothing but moonlight. In its nearly empty road trekked two cloaked figures whose faces were hidden under straw hats.

"You're aware that if you had said yes you could have boned her right? I wouldn't have minded." Behind Kisame, the Samehada growled as though in agreement.

"There are more pressing matters to deal with. We have a four-tails to catch. I wouldn't write that down as an easy task."

Kisame frowned at his younger partner. "Since when did you turn into a prude?"

"..."

Then as though a lightbulb lit up in his head, the swordsman's face broke into a smile. "Heh! Or maybe I'm reading the entire situation wrong. You haven't turned into a prude Itachi-san. You just got picky...or I daresay _committed_.

Itachi continued to stare straight ahead. In his face was a look of nonchalance.

"What theories have you come up with now?"

"I have a few but I'm not gonna talk about it just yet." Kisame turned to Itachi with a grin. "Say, you look positively glowing for someone who was at death's door three days ago. Whatever sorcery Sora-san did to you must have been pretty hardcore."

It had to be. There was a mighty expensive crack on the minshuku's floor to prove it.

"She is one of the best," Itachi replied. "Overshadowed only by Tsunade-hime and her apprentice."

"Yes but it can't be just that."

The Uchiha turned to look at Kisame questioningly.

"Shio-chan was a bright ball of sunshine this morning too, all smiles and blushes and shit. I wonder...it must be something in the water." Kisame tapped his chin with his index finger as though in deep thought. The gesture elicited a quiet chuckle from Itachi.

"Perhaps," he replied, the word laced with laughter.

"Ah. Kids nowadays..."

As their playful exchange died down, the duo fell into another bout of comfortable silence. It was only interrupted by the crunching of gravel under their feet. Itachi looked up to the bright moon above them. It was a beautiful waning crescent bordered by a sprinkle of twinkling stars. It looked more surreal than it had been the night before.

'Not that you were paying attention to it that much,' he thought to himself. Oh no. His attention was entirely focused on something else.

 _She had been staring at him for some time now. Itachi had been feigning sleep but the minutes had ticked by and she had not shown any interest on anything else aside from him. It was beginning to make him feel antsy._

 _"You're creepy when you stare like that," he declared with a hoarse voice. When he heard her surprised gasp, he opened his eyes and smiled at her like a satiated cat. Shiori continued to stare._

 _"I can't help it. You have annoyingly beautiful girly lashes. You don't deserve them. It's maddening really." Then she added as a whisper, "Oh and you're naked."_

 _He lifted his head to look at the thin sheets that covered them. Sometime while they slept, it had slid down to their hips._

 _"Oh..."_

 _"Yeah..."_

 _His gaze trailed up to meet hers once again. "So are you."_

 _Shiori squealed as Itachi rolled on top of her. He gave her a lingering kiss and rested his forehead against hers, contented at how pleasantly warm she felt against him. They were polar opposites. Cool and warm. Hard and soft. Fair and olive. And yet they moulded together perfectly. Thoughts of last night along with the feeling of her thighs against him made his blood run hot once again. He went in for another kiss, one which was more urgent than the last and made a disapproving sound when Shiori pulled away._

 _"I have to get up. Konan-san will be here in an hour."_

 _"So? How long does it take for you to get ready anyway?"_

 _"After last night? An hour."_

 _'And that's if I'll be able to walk straight,' she added as an afterthought._

 _Itachi activated his Sharingan and checked the cat-shaped clock which hung on the wall in front of him. "Konan-san always arrives at five on the dot. According to that thing, we still have eight minutes and 52 seconds left. 51...50...49...48-"_

 _"-And you're seriously going to waste all that time counting backwards?"_

 _Itachi merely smiled and continued counting. "44...43...42...41-"_

 _Shiori cut him off by gently nibbling at his lower lip. He pulled the sheets off of them, exposing their bare bodies to the cool air of dawn._

 _"I want to see you," he said. "All of you."_

 _Shiori shrugged and flipped them over so that she was straddling his hips. A victorious smirk spread on her lips as she saw the blush blossom on his chest and slowly creep up to his neck and cheeks._

 _"I'm all yours to see."_

* * *

Shiori could understand why the female merchant gave her a horrified look. One minute they were happily chatting about goods and trading marketing tips. The next, Shiori had pressed her lips flush against the unsuspecting girl's forehead. It was a bold move, one that could have earned her a painful smack on the face. She had been lucky though. Her target was too shocked to move.

"You...um, looked-you looked feverish. Just-just checking," she stammered. "Happy bargaining!"

She turned tail and brisk walked towards Konan who watched the entire exchange five stalls away.

"That looked awkward," she pointed out, falling in step beside Shiori in the crowded town center.

"It was awkward. Let's hope I never see her again. Ever."

The two women slipped into a quieter alley and hid in the shadow of a pile of crates. Konan spoke up first.

"So what did you get?"

Shiori replied, "She's a frequent traveller to Tsuchigomo Village. One of her patrons there is a local girl named Hotaru. Last time she saw her, she was with Utakata. I can guarantee that based on the pictures you showed me. You find Hotaru, you Mr. Utakata."

The dark-haired girl hesitated before asking, "So which one is he? A marked man or a jinchuuriki?"

Konan raised an eyebrow. "All jinchuuriki are marked men. As for Utakata, we need to act fast. If we don't get to him first, the Hunter-nins definitely will."

The Hunter-nins of Kirigakure were resilient as they were deadly. They never took any prisoners. For them, a mission would only be deemed a success if they had their targets' heads in their hands and those targets' bodies were cremated. Even Konan was wary of them. The kunoichi was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of Shiori suppressing a yawn. She had been doing that a lot the entire day.

"Did you stay up late last night?" Konan asked out of curiosity.

"Of course not. Why would I?"

She could tell Shiori was lying but decided to drop the subject. "Fine. Anyway, your intel tells us that we need to go east. Itachi-san and Kisame-san are most likely staying west. Guess I have to return you to him first. I'll send them a message to meet us at the nearest headquarters from here."

Shiori couldn't remember any headquarters near the Land of Grain. The trek might take days and the thought made her yawn again.

"I guess we better start walking."

* * *

Their southbound journey was quiet and uneventful. Konan wasn't as chatty as Kisame and could stand not talking for hours. Shiori respected her personal space and entertained herself by gazing at the silhouette of clouds on the velvet sky. The thin crescent of the moon peeked behind a cloud making her smile.

"I heard Sora-san did an excellent job with Itachi," Konan said, breaking the silence between them.

Shiori nodded in reply. "She's awesome. You guys are lucky to have her around."

She never got to asking the medic-nin why someone like her ended up in a criminal organization. However Sora was the kind of person who always knew what she was doing. Whatever her reasons were, Shiori knew she would agree with her.

"I'm surprised you haven't lashed out at him for leaving you at Kawagakure."

Shiori shrugged. "Well he did make up for it by saving me from those Kawagakure shinobi. And he didn't exactly give me a chance to get mad." Before she could snap at him, he had drained all her anger and replaced it with panic by nearly bleeding to death. And then once that was sorted, _it_ happened.

 _She had said it before and she would say it again. Itachi felt good. More than that, his tongue was another story. She learned it by firsthand experience that early morning. The young man a knack for driving her towards the edge. Then just before she would go over he would stop, look up from between her legs, and give her that smug Uchiha smirk. It drove her crazy. He did this a few times until she begged at him to take her already._

 _"-or I swear to Kami I'll kick you in the face-"_

 _He was inside her before she could finish her sentence, rolling his hips over and over and over again until she felt herself topple over the edge. He kissed her to stop her from crying out and then buried his face on her hair when he felt himself losing control over his lust. He gripped her hips so hard that she wouldn't be surprised if he left a bruise. After they both settled, he pulled her on top of him. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the machine-like murmur of his faulty heart._

 _"What in the world just happened?" she drawled, feeling spent._

 _"Hn. You're welcome," he murmured in reply, resting his lips on the top of her head._

 _Shiori chuckled, "Now I'm really going to be late._

 _"You have twenty-five minutes. I'm sure you'll be ready in twenty."_

 _"And what of the extra five minutes?"_

 _"For this." He put his arms around her and enveloped her in a snug bear hug. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave me."_

 _Shiori said nothing as she hugged him back. She wished she could tell him the same thing, beg him to drop everything that he had sworn to die for and just be with her. She would never say it out loud but she wished he would pick her over his penance to Sasuke and over his beloved village which had branded him as a traitor. She would never say it out loud because she knew it was nothing but a pipedream. His plans had been set into motion before he even knew that she existed. And from his conversations with Sora, she knew it was too late to stop them. They were living in borrowed time. The best they could do was treasure these moments, to pay attention to every detail until all of them were seared in their memories. Remember._

* * *

Travelling to the nearest headquarters took five more days. Konan and Shiori arrived in the hidden lair first. It was an undergound bunker lit with old wax and furnished with nothing but the barest of necessities. Its empty state was a grim reminder of just how many of the Akatsuki had fallen. Everyone knew there would be more deaths to come. It was only a matter of when. To keep their morbid thoughts at bay, Shiori brewed tea which she and Konan drank quietly on the spacious dining area. The two women sat across each other, enjoying the comfortable silence until Shiori noticed Konan narrowing her eyes at her.

"Is there something wrong, Konan-san?"

"Something is different about you. I've been trying to put my finger on it."

"I must have lost weight."

"No, it's not that."

The younger of the two shrugged and gulped the last dregs of her drink before pouring herself another cup.

"Let me know once you manage to put your finger on it."

It was only late that evening when Kisame and Itachi arrived in the headquarters that she realized what it was. On the outside, the ward and her handler looked as stone-faced as ever, going through the exchange process with the formality of professionals. The only reason that Konan was able to figure it out was because whatever certain glow Shiori had Itachi had it too, like a switch had been flipped on within the both of them.

What those two had was beyond the cold relationship of a prisoner and her guard. Whether they acted on these feelings, Konan would never know. But knowing that it was there, it was happening and it existed made her smile. It was another reminder, that for all the bad things happening around them, something good would always come to maintain the balance.

* * *

 **Writer's Notes:** First things first, a big BIG thank you to those who reviewed on the previous chapters ( **Ketsui Tasogare** , **pmann1** , **simplegirl42** , **cutepoison** , a couple of Guests and many many more). You guys are the reason why I push on with this story for so long now, nearly a year apparently. I many not be excellent in updating but I do try. And I hope you guys enjoy reading this because I loved every minute of writing this story.

I know a lot of you guys love fluff but for those who cringe at the sight of it, please bear in mind that this is only part of the story. It's Itachi for cripes' sake. It's hard enough to integrate Itachi in a fluff scene a few times...putting him in one all the time is impossible. He wouldn't be Itachi anymore. XDD

The songs I Found by Amber Run and Certain Things by James Arthur were on when my 2-month-long writer's block finally broke. The last two chapters were named after them as a thank you to my muse for coming back. Surprisingly, I thought the songs actually fit well with what Shiori and Itachi have. Go on. Have a listen. They're really good songs I promise.

And as per usual, my only request for you guys is to leave a review and lemme know what you think, no matter how crazy. Rant in the review section, I'd be more than happy to read them all. I may not have enough free time to reply to you all one by one but please know that each review is something I treasure. Till next time.


	27. Normalcy

When they were younger, Shiori often listened to Miyako and their other friends talk about finding an extraordinary kind of love. They gushed about the red string of fate leading them to the respective men of their dreams. They squealed at the thought of seeing fireworks on their first kiss. The handful of them who were from shinobi clans, Miyako included, fantasized about handsome shinobi saving them from some life-threatening predicament.

"It adds flavor to the love story," one girl said. "Sharing a dangerous experience strengthens the bond shared by two people."

They spoke of lavish weddings and the beautiful woes that came after. They wished for a lot of things, all of them extraordinary.

These childhood memories came back to her while she stared at the lines and dips of Itachi's back. They had made love again that night, an act which was becoming more and more frequent. The aftermath had lulled the young man into a peaceful slumber. Shiori, on the other hand, was kept awake with the noise inside her head. Though they had been sort-of-dating for quite some time, they had only gotten this intimate for over a week. Some nights she still found it hard to believe.

' _This_ is really happening,' she would think to herself whenever she was left in the silence of her own company. She could brag about this to her peers back in Shimogakure. All the factors that they said made up a wonderful romantic story were gradually ticked off in a span of over three years. And on top of that she had achieved these so-called milestones with a shinobi royalty (An S-rank rogue ninja who wiped out his entire coup-d'etat-planning clan, sure. But still an Uchiha right?)

Shiori was glad that Itachi couldn't read her thoughts so readily. She would never admit it to him or to anyone else but he was not the man of her dreams.

Not by a longshot.

Yes, her Mr. Right had dark hair but the similarities ended there. In her mind he was a farmer with the greenest thumb in the Land of Frost. She could almost see him in the field, wiping clammy sweat off his brow while smiling at her behind the fog of his warm breath. Oh, there's that. He smiled easily. Not a dubious smirk which could mean twelve different things but an honest smile that would light up his entire face. Her perfect romance meant being able to hold hands with her koibito in public. This guy didn't have enemies which hated him enough to want to kill him so there was nothing to worry about. Mr. Right rarely spoke in phrases with double meanings. He was smart but not all-knowing and she would eagerly teach him a few tricks of her own. In another life, she would have married him in a small ceremony attended only by their closest friends, her mother, and his large family (she just _knew_ he came from a large family). And after that they would live in a small house which she helped him build.

At fourteen, Shiori knew that she wanted that kind of life for herself. She craved for normalcy, one that would span for decades until she and her beloved grew old in each other's arms. She had a good dream, albeit a humble one. And staring at the scarred porcelain that was Itachi's back brought back this dream because she realized it was all it would ever be.

There was no growing old with this guy. And by the time their whirlwind affair would be over, she'd be too unrecognizable from who she once was to fit it with normalcy. It's who he was. Though silent by nature, Itachi was nothing short of a hurricane. He often left an indelible mark on the people who got too close to him. And she had come to love him so much that she had willingly jumped right into the eye of the storm.

Pale skin rippled as he stirred awake. In one smooth roll they were face to face. Eyes, which were still bloodshot from sleep, looked at her questioningly. When he didn't get an answer, he drowned her in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Go to sleep," he croaked.

Shiori chuckled at this, amused at the irony of his command. Last time she checked, Itachi was the insomniac one. She had nearly forgotten about this fact from the number of times he had fallen asleep on her. Her thumb ran over the swirling tattoo on his left arm, another reminder at just how far Itachi missed the "normal mark".

"This is unfair you know," he said. The words made his chest rumble. Shiori found the sensation rather soothing.

"Unfair how?" Her fingers shifted and began toying with the ends of his ponytail.

"You get to see my entire life with a kiss but I have no way of knowing what you're thinking this very moment."

There was a long pause. She could feel his arms growing tighter around her.

"Say, Itachi?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever thought about what you'd be doing if you were a normal person?"

At this, he peered down to frown at her. She clarified, "I mean if you weren't a shinobi."

"Well, you probably know."

"No, I don't. You rarely think about it."

He sighed. "I'd want to be an builder."

"Seriously?"

"Hmm. I've always wanted to build my own house...and other people's if they let me. If not that then a job which allows me to read a lot."

"Like a scholar?"

"Perhaps."

"A teacher?"

"I don't mind."

Shiori yawned. "Or a librarian."

"Hmm." He yawned.

"A scholarly builder...sounds good."

"Right?"

"..."

"..."

Neither made another sound for a couple of minutes until Shiori began to snore softly.

Uchiha Itachi wasn't the man of her dreams. Far from it. But in the reality that they lived in he was the only man she could think of loving, despite the odds. She knew she'd continue loving him well after she would lose him.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Hi guys. Sorry for the late update. I was away from a couple of days. By the time I came back I had another bout of WB, mostly because I've forgotten the events that occured in this timeline (cannon wise). So I've gone and re-watched some of the episodes from the Itachi Pursuit Arc.

I know I said I'll go easy on the fluff now but I realized after reviewing the last chapter that I couldn't withdraw it just like that. Itachi and Shiori are still in this lovey dovey honeymoon-stage and it would be tough to rip them off of each other. Thought it was best to taper it down in preparation for the heavy stuff in the next couple of chapters. For the nth time, I chose a scene where they are half-asleep/sleeping. There's something honest about half-asleep people, I dunno. Also, I think it shows a deeper level of trust for Itachi to completely put his guard down in front of Shiori. He never says it but he shows it. And the female OC becomes this spectator to his most private moments before the events in the manga and anime take place (events which we Itachi fans are too familiar about). Shout out to Ketsui Tasogare, xCutePoison, pmann1, ShawneeSavage and Lil'Conqueror for the reviews. You guys are my heroes ya know?

Hope to hear more from all of you.


	28. Give What is Due

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all the characters in the manga/anime are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Everyone knows that. Also, scenes and quotes in this chapter will be taken from specific scenes in the anime. Some of the characters' lines are slightly altered.

* * *

Itachi knew well enough to act extra cautious whenever he was in Amegakure or in its neighboring villages. He knew what their master was capable of. Pain of the Akatsuki was notorious for being a powerful sensor, perhaps the most powerful sensor alive. His ability allowed him to sense people and chakra from as far as five miles away. A jutsu, one he called Rain Tiger at Will Technique, amplified his ability by allowing him to use rainfall to pinpoint locations of people and activities even outside of the hidden village. And in the third world country named Land of Rain, rainfall was the one thing that they had in abundance. The Uchiha knew that the best way to stay under the radar was to do what they were expected to do and to keep moving. Hence, he wasn't surprised when they were called upon right after Kisame suggested that they took a break.

"He's calling us."

The blue-skinned swordsman sighed quietly. "He caught us dawdling."

The pair sat on the ground facing away from each other and positioned their hands to form the Ram seal.

"Gentoshin no Jutsu," they uttered in unison.

Almost immediately, their thoughts were picked up by Pain. Silhouettes of both Itachi and Kisame appeared in front of a stone lantern. The former opened his eyes and saw the hazy shadows of nearly all the remaining Akatsuki members surrounding the lone source of light inside the stone cavern. Konan was nowhere to be found. He was well aware of the mission she was currently in along with the Akatsuki asset she had brought with her but refused to think more of it, not with Pain and Tobi nearby. Even if it were just their thought waves, he couldn't take any chances.

"You're late," Pain pointed out at the last pair who responded to his call.

Kisame spoke up. "We just finished hunting the jinchuuriki. We had to blind him first so he wouldn't escape. So, why are we being summoned?"

"There's something you need to know urgently," Pain replied. "Orochimaru has been killed."

Silence fell upon the cavern. Even Itachi was surprised. Orochimaru, one of Konoha's legendary Sannin, finally succumbed to death. For a man hellbent on obtaining immortality, that was rather unexpected. Kisame broke the silent spell.

"Huh. A decade after leaving the Akatsuki, death finally caught up with him, eh? How did it happen? Also, what are the deets on the Zombie Combo's demise?"

The Rinnegan-wielder glared at Kisame's silhouette. "Watch you tongue."

"Sorry. Rumor has it that they were killed by shinobi from Konoha."

"It was Kakashi and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's platoon," the Black Zetsu spoke up, answering Kisame's queries.

Tobi gasped in amazement. "That platoon is strong, isn't it? They punched Deidara-san full of holes too!"

"Tobi!" Deidara barked. "Say one more word, you asshole, and I swear I'll blow you up, hn!"

"Easy! Easy!" the masked shinobi piped back. "Really senpai, your hot head will be the death of you."

"How about I'll be the death of _you_ instead-!"

"Deidara, calm down. You'll only prove Tobi right." Pain sounded almost bored breaking up the verbal sparring between the two members.

"Boy, I sure made senpai angry," Tobi murmured.

"And Tobi, learn to keep your mouth shut. You know better than to anger your senpai."

Kisame rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It makes my head hurt just thinking about how we'll catch the remaining jinchuuriki like this. Anyway, whoever killed Orochimaru must have been something else. Who was it?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

If Itachi was surprised, he was excellent at keeping it to himself. All eyes were on him but the young shinobi barely flinched. He didn't even bat an eyelash.

Kisame chuckled. "Impressive. I expect nothing less from Itachi-san's otouto."

"He's currently going around gathering companions," White Zetsu said. "Moreover, they're troublesome shinobi."

"Which means?"

"You know one of them," Pain said turning to Kisame. "Kirigakure's Hozuki brothers. He's one of them."

"Suigestsu huh? That takes me back," the swordsman replied with a hint of nostalgia.

"Juugo of the Scales is with them as well. You need to stay alert. Itachi, Kisame, he'll most likely be targeting you. Everyone else, remember what I've told you about Uchiha Sasuke. If they learn too much about Itachi and Kisame, chances are they may target the Akatsuki."

"Kisame," Deidara spoke up. "What kind of guy is he, that Suigetsu?"

"Ten years ago he was a kid with a cute face. He was always smiling. Combat-wise he was a prodigy who was called the second coming of the Demon Zabuza."

"They sound like an interesting bunch," Deidara mused.

"Itachi, Kisame, hurry up and bring the Yonbi here," Pain ordered. "We're going to seal it along with the Sanbi."

"Understood," Itachi finally spoke up.

* * *

With the jutsu terminated, Itachi felt his consciousness slowly settling back to his own body. He opened his eyes and breathed out quietly, digesting the information that he had just obtained from Pain.

Sasuke had killed Orochimaru. He was finally safe from that madman.

'Thank you Kami,' he thought to himself. And yet along with the relief was the unmistakable feeling of doom weighing down at the pit of his stomach.

Sasuke defeating Orochimaru meant that his otouto had become powerful, perhaps powerful enough that he finally had to honor his part of the deal. It won't be long before he would have to meet him and give him what he had been craving for all those years: a fight to the death. 'Just as well,' the older Uchiha thought wryly. He didn't have much time left.

"Good lord, just when I thought we could rest a little," Kisame groaned, turning to his quiet partner. "Sealing one bijuu takes _days._ Imagine how long it would take us to seal two."

"We have no choice. Let's hurry."

* * *

Everyone knew that Konan was Pain's most trusted member among the Akatsuki. Even the assets and sleeper agents were aware of this. If something big happened, she'd be the first to be called back by their leader.

A few days ago, just half an hour into tailing a Sunagakure jonin, the purple-haired kunoichi paused and ordered Shiori to fall back. But not before whispering a name that the ward thought was familiar.

"Jiraiya-sama."

As per protocol, Shiori made a beeline for the nearest headquarters. The trip took two days and it led her to the barren deserts of Wind Country. More than once she suspected that she was suffering from heat stroke. Her entire body felt like it weighed a ton and every movement made her head spin. By the time she reached the entrance to the headquarters, she was more than happy to lie down by the massive stone door and stay there throughout the night.

"You're lucky you found us before the sand storm began," Fudo said, helping her back to her feet. "You could've died."

"If I had a ryo for every time I nearly died," she said to herself.

That was days ago.

Now she was in a predicament which was no better than being exposed to the elements. For the umpteenth time Shiori forced down the bile that lurched up her throat every time she caught a whiff of the flowers that she was pounding for Sora. She didn't doubt these plants' worth. If the medic-nin told her these were important ingredients for important potions, then she believed that they were. But that didn't stop them from smelling so bad. Every plant she crushed with her pestle smelled worse than the last one. Come midday, she had grown cold and clammy from being sick. Once, Sora walked past her and gave her an odd look.

"Didn't know you had such a weak stomach."

"I don't. But this is...you seriously think these things smell ok?" Shiori asked through gritted teeth. The strong smell of crushed petals went up her nostrils yet again making her gag. How the medic-nin worked with such vicious scents for so long was beyond her.

Sora stuck her face near the mortar that Shiori was working on and inhaled deeply.

"Nonsense. I've never met anyone who doesn't like the smell of ylang-ylang until now."

Seeing the green tint on the young woman's face was enough to convince her that she wasn't feigning sickness. She excused her for an hour-long break. Shiori gratefully obliged.

On her way out of the room, she knocked a pack of chakra paper off of one of the shelves. Most of the pieces which came in contact with the chakra leaking out of her wrinkled in mid-air, just as expected. But one piece of chakra paper managed to land on her forearm before bursting into a small flame. She looked up to Sora who was staring back at her with a surprised look on her face.

"Strange. Must be a dud." Shiori shrugged. She had been tested many times ever since she became an asset of the organization. All of her test results pointed to her having an affinity to lightning-based jutsus, an expected finding considering both her parents originally hailed from Kumogakure.

Long after Shiori had cleaned her mess and left the room, Sora still pondered over the curious incident she had just witnessed. She went over to the bin where the young woman had dumped the wasted chakra papers and took out the one which was burnt black. The tiny square crumbled into ashes in her grip.

'A paper catching on fire meant the chakra has an affinity to fire,' the words in an old textbook repeated in her mind in verbatim.

"Oh Kami. But it can't be."

* * *

Stepping out of the room worked. As soon as she stopped smelling those hideous flowers, she stopped having the urge to throw up. Now all that was left was a sinking feeling in her stomach, a pang of worry which she had quietly endured for the past few days.

She was supposed to be loaned to Deidara following the mission with Konan. She hadn't seen much of the pyrotechnique extraordinaire since Sasori died and he was paired up with Tobi.

'Or should I say Madara,' she thought to herself, sending a chill down her spine. Reading Itachi's mind had been a double-edged sword. While it gave her answers to many of her questions, she also gained access to alarming facts she'd rather stay ignorant about. The truth about Uchiha Madara was one of those facts. The man was a psychopath and a genius, a combination which seemed common to the Uchiha clan, but this one, this _Madara_ , was a league of his own. He was smart enough to manipulate a thirteen-year-old Itachi into committing a heinous massacre with him and also smart enough to fool a handful of S-rank shinobi into thinking that he was nothing more than a bumbling fool.

Back then, she did notice in passing that she never got loaned to the masked man. It was only over a year ago, when she first kissed Itachi in Iwagakure that she found out why. He had been bending over backwards to keep her out of Tobi's way since day one, more out of fear for his own safety. If Tobi/Madara found out that she knew about his involvement with the Uchiha massacre, she would be dead and Itachi would be in deep trouble.

Three weeks ago, on the last night they shared together, he had told her what was going to happen. It was inevitable. The number of Akatsuki members had dwindled considerably and so had their number of assets. Avoiding Tobi would now look suspicious. He had instructed her on what to do to keep herself safe.

"Forget you even know chakra control. As far as Deidara knows, you're terrible at it. Let your chakra loose. The easier it is for Tobi to sense it, the more inclined he would be to stay away. Even he would think twice about touching you for fear of being read."

"Right. Any more suggestions?"

Itachi pulled his mesh shirt down his head, smoothing it down his torso before smiling at her. "Let them think you hate me."

However, neither Deidara nor Tobi had shown up. They should have collected her five days ago and still there were no signs of them, not even a message saying that they were on their way. A cancelled bounty mission could only mean one thing. Something urgent was happening, something more important than earning funds for the Akatsuki. Maybe it even had something to do with Konan's aborted mission. She had no way of knowing. It was the not knowing which made the pang in her stomach grow heavier.

With only five minutes remaining on her break, Shiori decided to head back to Sora and her nauseating plants. She figured that the sooner she'd be done with them the better. She paused by the door when she overheard the voice of Fudo. He seemed to be talking to Sora.

"What are they up to now?" the medic-nin asked.

"I don't know, dear. Whatever it is, they want it done fast before Uchiha Sasuke could get to his brother, Itachi."

Shiori's knees buckled. She grabbed on to the walls for support, struggling to catch her breath as her heart pounded on her throat.

"Sasuke?! What do you mean?"

"He had killed Orochimaru, you know. Now they're saying him and a handful of shinobi are on their way to get Itachi. They don't treat it as a matter of _if_ but _when_. And they want to make sure the older Uchiha is utilized well before...before-"

"-Fudo, stop. Just stop."

The sliding door opened revealing a teary-eyed Sora. Shori wasn't looking too well either. From green, she had turned paper white.

"What's happening to you?" the medic-nin asked worriedly.

The smell of flowers invaded her nostrils once again, mixing with the horror from the news about Sasuke. A ringing sound began to fill her head.

"Shiori? Shiori!" Sora's voice sounded far and echoey. "Goodness you're freezing! What's wrong-"

The last thing she remembered was emptying her stomach's contents on the stone floor before passing out.

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 _Bijuu_ \- tailed beast

 _Kami_ \- God

 _Otouto_ \- younger brother

 _Sanbi_ \- three-tailed beast

 _Senpai_ \- someone of higher rank **  
**

 _Yonbi_ \- four-tailed beast

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ First things first thank you oh so much for putting up with crappy update scheds! Believe me, I feel guilty for not updating this story as often as I should. However, like I always say, real life stuff comes first. Adulting is hard people. Who knew. Also one of the reason of the delays is that I had to re-watch some of the episodes in this timeline several times just to get the feel of the events. There's always more pressure when writing about events which happened in canon because there's the added obligation of making it feel as close to how the creators of Naruto wanted it portrayed as possible. Dunno...just felt like I had to do it out of respect for Kishimoto...while adding some bits and pieces from my ideas of course.

Also, the angst train has left the station and will only be gaining more momentum in the chapters to come. Like the clueless girl that I am, I'm begging you to please let me know about your thoughts of these events (aka leave a review people! if you're shy then feel free to PM me). I may not be able to reply to you personally but do bear in mind that I do take your suggestions and tips at heart and try to integrate it to the story as much as I can.

Anyways, thanks again for reading. See you next time.


	29. A Brother's Decision

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all the characters in the manga/anime are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Everyone knows that. Also, scenes and quotes in this chapter will be taken from specific scenes in the anime. Some of the characters' lines are slightly altered.

* * *

To say that she was disappointed with herself was a severe understatement. She thought she was done with fainting spells. She had gone for years, survived a handful of near-death experiences with her eyes wide open and her consciousness intact. And just as she had grown confident with her abilities, she face-planted on the floor. It was terrible. Fainting rubbed in her face the one embarassing fact that she had come to hate about herself: Without other people to help her, she was nothing more than a weakling who couldn't even watch her own back.

"Are you going to tell me why you passed out on me or should I take a guess?"

Sora sat by the foot of her futon. A well-placed frown camouflaged her worry with that of annoyance. Shiori turned her head to one side and looked at the calendar tacked on the cork board by the door.

 _'Has it really been two months? Damn.'_

"Shiori!"

"Do you know what they do to the wards once their handlers die?" She slowly sat up and met Sora's gaze with a dead look. "I've seen it happen once to Hidan's and Kakuzu's wards. Let's just say it didn't look too promising."

Sora looked away as Shiori continued, "I can't help but think...you know, who's going to do it? Who's going to _silence_ me?" She scoffed. "I guess that depends on who's left among them."

"Have faith in Itachi. He always has a plan, does he not?"

"Yeah well..."

She knew about his plan. Unfortunately even she could see that his plan had a gaping hole in it. It ended with the fight against his brother. There was no next move after that.

Shiori sighed and lied back on her futon. She then curled to her side and tucked both hands on her belly before dozing off into a fitful slumber.

* * *

In the middle of sealing the Sanbi and the Yonbi, Deidara declared to the remaining members of the Akatsuki that he was going to pursue Uchiha Sasuke to the death, much to Tobi's apparent chagrin. The masked man's protests fell on deaf ears and he looked like he had no choice but to accompany his senpai in staging an ambush. As the images of the two disappeared from sight, Kisame turned to his partner.

"Are you fine with that, Itachi-san?"

The Sharingan wielder kept quiet. Instead, he concentrated on sealing the remaining tailed-beast before the task took its toll on him. Truth be told he wasn't fine with it, but not for the reason that the other members thought. Should Deidara get his wish and end up fighting Sasuke, the youngest member of the Akatsuki was going to die. He was certain of it. If the cursed seal made Sasuke powerful enough to defeat Orochimaru then the odds were definitely in his favor in the fight against Deidara. What he was more concerned about was Tobi. He didn't want the bastard anywhere near Sasuke, not until after he was done with him and his otouto gained the Mangekyo. Itachi held on to the hope that Madara, who was disguising himself as Tobi, was too interested on Sasuke to make any major moves while his older brother was still alive.

The Uchiha prodigy didn't have to wait long to prove himself right. The next day, just after they finished sealing the Yonbi, Black Zetsu reported what Itachi had seen coming a mile away.

"Deidara is dead. He ended it with a giant explosion."

Kisame sighed in annoyance. "Looks like your otouto won, Itachi-san. And we have lost yet another member."

"Not quite," Black Zetsu pointed out. "It seems like Sasuke died too."

"Dragged him along, huh?" the swordsman mused.

"You should be grateful, Itachi," Pain said. "Deidara died while preventing unnecessary hindrance."

"I feel like we're forgetting something," Kisame added. It was the White Zetsu who answered him.

"Tobi died as well. Deidara decided to blow everything up indiscriminately."

"Oh right, Tobi. I thought he always seemed prepared to escape at a second's notice. Not so lucky this time huh? That must have been one hell of a jutsu."

"That's fine," Pain replied. "There are plenty of shinobi at his level around for the choosing. Deidara, however, was valuable."

Itachi barely stopped himself from scoffing. He couldn't figure out yet why Madara would fake his own death but he sure took extra steps to push the members into not giving much thought about it by letting Pain emphasize his worthlessness.

Kisame was sold but still couldn't stop thinking about their deceased comrade. "I quite enjoyed him, that Tobi." Deidara, on the other hand, got no sentiments from him.

Pain excused himself, instructing the now dwindling number of Akatsuki members to mourn for Deidara in silence.

"In that case, I'll take care of Tobi's funeral," White Zetsu said. "It's our time off anyway."

As the last silhouette disappeared from view, Itachi and Kisame were the only ones left in the empty cave. They watched in silence as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path sank to the ground with a loud rumble. Once the tremors stopped and the dust settled, the cave floor became visible once again. It looked even and untouched, never once betraying the monstrosity that the cavern housed merely moments ago.

"I guess we're done here. Let's go, Itachi-san," Kisame said. The swordsman trudged towards the cave's entrance with the quiet Itachi right behind him. They were greeted by low, dark clouds and a heavy downpour of icy rain.

"It still hasn't stopped." Kisame clucked his tongue. "For it to be coming down like this in these parts is quite strange."

Rain seldom poured for this long in Ishigakure. It started right before they began sealing the tailed beasts. Now it still poured strong and showed no signs of stopping. He looked around the mouth of the cave, searching for a comfortable place to lie down on. With the way things were looking, they were likely going to end up spending the night there. Itachi, on the other hand, had another thing in mind.

Ignoring his partner's questioning glares, he walked right into the pouring rain, letting out a shaky breath as he tried to focus on every raindrop that pelted on his worn body. He deactivated his Sharingan and the world and the world surrounding him blurred into indistinguishable grays. He looked up, allowing the rain to soak his face and flush away the salty tears which stubbornly made themselves known.

The time has come to pay for his sins. He had prepared for this moment before he even committed the crime, long before he had convinced himself that it had to be Sasuke who would avenge their clan's downfall. He had prepared for nearly a decade. And yet, despite everything he still felt fear grip his heart thinking of how his life was about to come to an end. He didn't want this, didn't want to die before he could even truly live. But he knew that not all people have that kind of shot at life. He had been sentenced to die young since he was a toddler. His only consolation was that he could use his death as a way to end the curse of the Uchiha. Sasuke would get his revenge, become hailed as a hero, and continue on living to do what he had sworn to do: to protect Konohagakure and the honor of their clan for the rest of his long life.

A couple of yards away, under the protection of the cave, Kisame called out to him.

"That's harmful to your body. I have no idea what a cold-hearted man like you is thinking right now but from here it looks like you're crying." He waited for a reaction from the younger shinobi. When he got none, he added, "What happened to your otouto sure is a shame. Looks like you're the last remaining member of the Uchiha clan."

"No. He didn't die. Also..."

"What are you talking about?"

Out of the blue, the heavy rain came to an abrupt stop. The two shinobi looked up as the heavy clouds broke apart, allowing a ray of sunlight to hit the exact spot that Itachi stood on.

"The rain has stopped," Itachi said, a small smile gracing his chapped lips.

Kisame walked over to him, meeting his partner's unreadable gaze.

"What exactly are you planning to do, Itachi-san?"

"I have no intention of running," he replied. "I'll wait until he finds me."

Kisame shook his head and gazed at the wilderness below them. "I had a feeling you were going to say that." After a long pause he added, "Are you going to tell Shiori-chan or should I break the news to her?"

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes:_** Again most of these scenes are from canon. And if you're a die-hard Itachi fan like me, chances are you're way too familiar with these scenes. I was a bit worried that things would end up looking too rushed in these parts. Now that I think of it, most of what happened in Naruto shippuden in this timeline happened simultaneously. It would be tedious (and albeit a bit redundant) if I included all of them in these chapters so I had to pick a few scenes and kind of elaborate on it...well, I tried to anyway. Again, gauging Itachi personality-wise in these bits was tricky. In the series he looked stoic for the entire arc, showing little to know emotions even as he stared death in the face. But then again, when you think about it, nobody wants to die (four-year old Itachi figured this out, post jumping off a cliff; wanted to incorporate those musings in my version of the old Itachi). Dabbling his "hidden thoughts" were interesting as they were challenging. I wanted him to sound human without losing the hard edges he is known for. Anyway, I'm talking too much now. Please leave a review.


	30. The Test

**Author's Note:** So apparently for a few weeks now, FF developed a bug which prevented email alerts from being sent to anyone who followed/favorited this story. Before you start reading this chapter, please be informed that I posted two previous chapters during the time that the bug went unfixed: **Chapter 28 - Give What is Due** and **Chapter 29 - A Brother's Decision**. Sounds familiar? Then great! You've probably read them. You may proceed with this chapter. Not familiar? Hold it right there and go back two chapters. And _then_ you can proceed with this one. Cheerios! Oh and before somebody starts torching me with copyrights stuff, here is a disclaimer saying that most of these characters are not mine. Also, certain scenes from these chapter were taken directly from the Naruto Shippuden anime...even the lines of the characters (some lines are tweaked a bit but they're basically Kishimoto's idea). Let's make that clear awryt?

* * *

The trip started with an unexpected wake up call at three in the morning. Shiori would have put up a fuss had it not been for what came out of Sora's lips next.

"We're heading to the headquarters in Mount Jofuka in ten minutes. Itachi's orders."

Shiori was ready in eight. And for the entire two-day journey, she want back and forth between relief and anxiety. Relief because Itachi was still alive. A crippling anxiety because of the knowledge that the nightmare was far from over.

Kisame greeted them upon their arrival. The pair arrived just after sunrise, a few hours ahead of the trio and had just finished settling down. He ordered Fudo and Sora to come with him in the main area for a mission briefing before turning to Shiori. It took all of her self-control to act stoic and uninterested.

"Third door on the left. He's waiting," Kisame said.

Shiori waited until she rounded up a corner before breaking into a jog. Once she reached the front of the third door, she all but ripped it open before hurrying inside, her breathing heavy, eyes rimmed with tears and her ponytail nearly undone.

"Itachi," she called out, fearing the worst. _'Has he gone after Sasuke-'_

A soft tug at her hair made her jump. She spun around and came face to face with her koibito. He smiled down at her despite the fact that all he could see was the silhouette of her face. His vision got worse during their stay in Ishigakure and now he could barely see anything whenever his Sharingan was deactivated.

Shiori didn't miss a beat and tackled him into a hug. In response, he tilted her head up and planted a fervent kiss on her lips. They kissed until their lungs burnt and both had to come up for air. Shiori broke down and buried her face on his chest while he rested his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes to focus on her hearbeat fluttering against his ribcage.

 _'I love you.'_

The thought crossed his mind unexpectedly, making him twitch. He thought it seemed unfair to say it out loud now, considering the horrors which were quickly closing in on them.

Once Shiori got her bearings, she looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I heard about Sasuke. Itachi, listen to me..." She caressed his cheek with a shaking hand. The young man instinctively leaned against it.

"There has to be another way. You are _brothers_. He loves you. Given the chance, he will listen to you. I know it."

"It's not that simple."

Obsidian met gray. There was nothing left for him to say. She knew that look. It was a look which said that certain decisions had already been set in stone. But she couldn't afford to have any of it.

"No. Please! Don't be so selfish to throw you life away like this!"

Shiori could tell that she hit a nerve. He flinched away from her and stepped back as though burnt.

"Selfish? You think I'm doing this for myself?" His voice rose with every word and she could see an angry glint in his eyes. When he spoke again, he was quieter.

"Live and die for the village. Live and die for the clan. Don't play dumb with me, Shiori. You know more than anyone how I've lived with those words. Everything I did, I did to protect Konoha...and to protect the honor of the Uchiha name. Do not lecture me about selfishness."

"I won't even pretend to understand you."

"I don't expect you to."

Hurt flashed across her tear-stained face. "But you wanna know what I see? I see a man who has given up. People who want to live do not readily walk into their deaths, definitely not if they know there's a way out. And you, Itachi...you're too smart, too _precious_ to end things like this." She took his hand in hers. It was a struggle to keep her voice steady. "You do not have to give up your life for anyone. Have you not given up enough?"

"The medicines have stopped working. One way or another, I don't have much time to make things right. I won't let you or anybody else ruin that chance for me. You ask whether I've given up enough? You know excactly what I've given up: Everything. Now, tell me again why I shouldn't do it. My name and my honor are in tatters. What do I have left to live for?"

Shiori looked down at her feet. She had one card left to play, one more shot at convincing him to live.

"You have me. Why can't that be enough?"

A long pause fell between the two who were bound by the love they felt for each other and yet forced apart by the cruel circumstances being served to them. For Shiori, Itachi's reply felt like the last nail in the coffin.

"I'm sorry."

And with that, he moved past her and walked out of the room.

* * *

During the many years that she had worked for the Akatsuki, Sora had learned that packing up was always easier than looking for the right place to put her things on. Like every other asset they owned, she was a nomad. She didn't have a fixed place to call her home. Hence, she always made an effort to make her designated room as homey as possible no matter how brief her stay was.

It was well after lunch time when she finally finished settling down in the new headquarters. With spare time in her hands, she decided to explore tha place and look for a quiet place she can meditate in. With everything that was happening around her, from the Akatsuki's dwindling number of shinobi to Shiori's self-diagnosed "stomach flu", she needed time to clear her head before she can think straight.

She made her way to the north corridor and opened the door at the end of it which led to the study room. It was a square room lined with shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls. At one corner was a row of desks and on one of it, crouched over a reading article, was one of the sources of her woes.

"I was hoping to get some alone time but I guess you beat me to it," she said to the Rinha descendant.

Shiori looked up and smiled at her. "I can move over if you want. I won't bother you. I'm only here for the peace and quiet too."

Sora dismissively waved her hand at her. "Nonsense. Stay right where you are." She waddled to the work desk next to Shiori and plopped on to the seat with a satisfied sigh. For a moment, only the sound of the paper scroll being undone by Shiori filled the room.

"So," the medic-nin started softly, nervous to breach the subject. "I assume you've spoken to Itachi."

"Sort of," she replied, not taking her eyes off the scroll.

"And have you told him about your concerns regarding...what would happen to you?"

The question made her pause. She looked up at Sora in confusion. It took her a while to get what the older woman meant. And when it finally clicked, she burst out laughing, much to Sora's horror.

 _'She finally lost it,'_ the medic-nin thought.

When the giggles subsided, Shiori wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Right, about that. Nope. It never even crossed my mind that time." She sighed, annoyed with herself. "Why didn't I worry about that instead, Sora-san? Why the fuck can't I worry about my impending doom first before I worry myself sick about other people?"

Sora narrowed her eyes at her. "Wait, what are you talking about? Who are they?"

Shiori continued her rant as though she didn't hear Sora at all. "Well, he sure as hell doesn't care about dying so why bother worrying about him? It's stupid. _I'm_ stupid. People are stupid."

Angry tears forced themselves out of her and she roughly wiped them away. The more she wiped them away, the faster they came.

"I can't even stop this...this-"

"-It can't be helped, Shiori." Sora scooted her chair closer to her and grabbed both of her hands before she rubbed her face raw. "It's...how do I say this - it's what love does to people. Trust me, it's not just you. There's no shame in that."

She could think of one genius at the top of her head who had done some dangerous things in the name of love. Itachi and Shiori had more things in common than they thought.

This time, Shiori broke down. Sobs racked her entire body, making her bones shake and her breaths rattle.

"I thought I understood, Sora-san. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into...being with him."

She had made herself believe that she understood the concept of borrowed time, never once entertaining the thought of how it would destroy her in the aftermath. She had been so focused on what to do after Itachi was gone that she didn't let herself think of what she will become with the unimaginable loss. But now that losing him, truly losing him, has become a reality, she was forced to let go of the delusion and face the truth of what she had been doing during those turbulent three years. She was clinging on to the hope that she could change his mind, that if she poured her heart out to him, he would pick her.

"I'm losing him, Sora-san. I'm losing him before Sasuke could even get to him. And I don't know what to do."

* * *

"Show yourself, Uzumaki Naruto."

Spotting the Kyuubi jinchuuriki had been the easy part. If Shiori was like a flare torch for sensors, Naruto was as visible as an atomic bomb going off. His Uzumaki chakra combined with that of the Kyuubi's made him almost impossible to miss and difficult to ignore. It was just Itachi and him in a secluded area of the woods located in the border of the Land of Fire. Naruto froze at the sight of him, fear evident in his round blue eyes.

"Have you come to capture me?" he asked.

"No. I merely wish to speak with you," he replied flatly. Not a split second later, two of Naruto's shadow clones appeared behind him, aiming for his back. He flung his arms up and each clone received a kunai to the heart before exploding into nothingness.

"As if I'd believe that," Naruto scoffed.

"You know you're alone. So why aren't you running?"

"My numbers can go from one to a thousand!" the blonde growled. Then he added in a lower voice, "Also, I can't afford to escape. Catching you means getting a chance to see Sasuke again."

 _'Sasuke huh?'_ the Uchiha thought. _'Guess we're on the same page.'_

"Why do you care so much about my otouto? He's merely a missing-nin now."

Anger flashed across Naruto's face. "That's because I think of him as a brother more than you ever could!"

He'd be lying if he said the jinchuuriki's claim didn't hurt. Only a select few people knew that Itachi's decision to proceed with the massacre was heavily based on Sasuke's survival. He couldn't risk Konoha turning against the Uchihas first. For sure they would chase every living clan member to the ends of the Earth and eliminate them. Women and children would not be spared. Had that happened, a then eight-year-old Sasuke wouldn't have stood a chance. With the Uchihas sealing their fate by going through with the coup, he found it within himself to do the unthinkable, all for the sake of his beloved brother and for his village.

Naruto didn't know that. And he didn't plan on letting him know at all. Just as Itachi expected, the tense silence became too much to bear for the blonde. With a loud war cry, Naruto charged towards him and straight into his genjutsu. In his and Naruto's mind's eye, crows began to gather around them. Their caws rang painfully loud in the red-and-black dimension created by Itachi.

"You are already in my genjutsu," he said. "I'll tell you once more. I merely wish to talk. You've been trying to take Sasuke back to Konoha. But what if things don't go the way you want them to?"

Naruto stared back at him defiantly. "I'll do anything to make it happen!"

"Even by force? If by some turn of luck Sasuke willingly goes with you, then great. But what if the exact opposite happens?"

"...What do you mean?"

"You just said that you consider Sasuke as your brother. What if he were to attack Konoha?"

The look on Naruto's face said it all. He never considered this as a possibility. Itachi understood him. Anybody who wasn't privy to the real story behind the Uchiha clan's downfall would never think of Sasuke targeting his beloved village. It didn't make sense. He had no reason to do so.

"There's no way he'd do something like that!" the blonde roared.

"Sasuke is still naive. Anything is possible with him. In which case, can you stop him even if you have to kill him? Could you weigh Sasuke's life against Konoha in a set of scales?"

Obsidian locked on blue. What comes out of the younger shinobi's mouth next would determine whether Itachi could trust him with one of the most powerful tools he possessed: Shisui's legacy.

"I would defend Konoha! But I would also stop Sasuke without killing him."

"What you speak of are fantasies. A shinobi must be able to make difficult decisions. Harsh decisions."

Naruto paused, as though thinking about a memory from the past. Itachi could almost see the cogs and wheels of his mind working double time.

 _'What's it going to be, Naruto?'_

"So I've been told. But you have to understand, for me there is no choice. I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way!"

* * *

Many miles away, in a bare bedroom hidden in the forest of Mount Jofuka, Uchiha Itachi opened his eyes as the information gathered by his shadow clone came back to him. He smiled to himself. The foolish kid passed the test. Now there was one more thing to do before he could finally rest.

* * *

 **Author's Note 2.0:** This was another long chapter cut to two. For all you Itachi fans out there, you have an idea of what's coming next. It has been a long, long time but for you guys who managed to stick with me until this chapter, I would like to thank you...seriously, I can't even emphasize how thankful I am to you guys for giving me a chance to portray this version of Itachi and this alternate sort of behind-the-scenes drama of his mysterious life. Thank you for putting up with my typos (I'm a terrible beta...even to myself) and thank you for being patient enough to read through the slow bits of this story. Hope the FF bug is finally sorted and I get to hear from all of you real soon. A dream come true for me would be for all of my readers to leave a review (I'd be in cloud-nine if even half of you guys who viewed this chapter would review...what's with the silent treatment y'all?)... you think I'm low-key begging you guys for revs, don't you? You're absolutely right. Haha!

You probably notice that in this chapter (and on a lot of chapters in general), when it comes to Itachi, there's less conversation and more description of what the character is specifically doing. It's what happens when your main character isn't the most vocal character in Narutoverse. I always thought that with someone like Itachi who rarely talks in sentences, it pays to pay attention to his body language, no matter how small. After all, actions speak louder than words. Just a little trivia I guess. Hope to hear from all of you soonish.


	31. Compartmentalize

**Author's Note:** Hello guys! Here's the second half of the mega chapter. Decided to get this out there while I still have time to postpone all the adulting business. As usual, some of the scenes here are directly taken from the anime. Narutoverse is not mine...in case you forgot.

* * *

It had been weeks since Itachi has had a good night's sleep. That night was no different. Knowing that shut-eye wouldn't come to him for the next couple of hours, he got up from his bed and wandered around the headquarters. He realized that he wasn't the only one awake when he found Kisame in the equipment room sharpening his kunais. The swordsman nodded at him in greeting before quickly returning to his task.

"I asked Shio-chan to do this for me earlier but she only managed to do half of them. She said she couldn't stand the shitty smell of my whetstone." Kisame picked up the said stone and sniffed it. "No clue what she's talking about."

Itachi dragged a chair and sat across the table facing his partner. He took one of the dull kunais and started sharpening it. Kisame stole a glance at the young man in front of him. Uchiha Itachi was one of the most private people he knew. Getting him to open up about anything was like pulling out a tooth with his bare fingers. He learned to stop trying early on. However, throughout the years that he had spent working with him, he had become perceptive enough to notice when things were bothering the prodigy. That moment, in the wee hours of morning, it was more obvious than ever. The burdens that Itachi carried had become heavy enough that even he could see the toll it had on him. It was written all over his face. Kisame may not be as smart as him but he wasn't born yesterday either. He had a good idea of what was causing Itachi to lose sleep.

He sighed. "You know one of the first lessons my senpai taught me was how to compartmentalize the different aspects of my life. Heh! Thought he sounded like a philosopher wannabe when he said that."

"He had a point," the younger shinobi replied. "Shinobi are often called to do morally questionable acts for the sake of a mission's success. This could be difficult considering these acts go against what we've been taught as right."

"So we compartmentalize." He chucked the now sharp kunai on a pile on his left and picked up another dull one. "We put missions and personal affairs in different boxes and try our hardest not to mix them up. If we go on missions, we pretend that our personal affairs do not exist and vice versa. Worked well for me for the most part."

Itachi looked up at him. "For the most part?"

"Well it can't be helped, can it? Our personal affairs often involve other people, people who have a hard time understanding why we shut them out."

A comfortable silence fell between the two. The repetitive sound of metal gliding against stone filled the room, turning into a white noise which made Itachi lose himeslf in his thoughts. Kisame's musings reminded him of Sasuke when he was younger. His otouto was an attention-seeker, always eager to impress his aniki. He had worked with a handful of shinobi who had younger siblings of their own and yet none of them mentioned the same clinginess from their brothers and sisters that he noted from Sasuke. And then there was him, more often than not rejecting his otouto's attempts at spending time with him. It had become a pattern between the two brothers. Sasuke would run forward. And just as his aniki was within reach, Itachi would step away. A half-hearted apology would follow along with a promise of "a next time", both of which Sasuke doubted more than he believed. What the youngster didn't know was that Itachi didn't want him to smell the blood staining his ANBU uniform. He didn't want to touch his innocent brother with the same hands that drove a katana through the chest of someone else's otouto just hours prior. At times he even feared that the stress and trauma that his ANBU missions had caused him would leak out of his pores and come in contact with Sasuke. And so he pushed him away, not because he thought of him as a nuisance but because he didn't want to damage him.

And now...now he was seeing the same patterns emerging in his relationship with Shiori. The only difference was that she was an adult who was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. He hated how she called him out for giving up, hated how she was right to some extent. Despite the good things his koibito had given him, he couldn't deny the relief that laced his fear when he heard that Sasuke was on his way to get him. Itachi didn't want to die but he was also tired, both physically and mentally. He couldn't remember the last time he went for a month without fighting or lying. And now he looked forward to resting. After everything he has done, how can that be selfish?

* * *

Shiori had a blissful ten seconds after she woke up. In her mind she was back in the travelling merchants' caravan with her mother and her friends, trading goods and ghost stories with anyone who was interested. They sat around a fire, enjoying the cool weather of Konohagakure in autumn. The adults were drinking sake until their cheeks glowed in the dark. Somewhere someone told Shiori that it was her turn to tell a horror story. With a snap of a finger, she remembered her current predicament.

Akatsuki. Itachi. Sasuke.

The dark-haired girl woke up hyperventilating. She barely made it to the backyard before she started retching on to one of the potted plants. She heaved until her chest burned and her head felt like it was about to explode. And just when she thought she was going to die on the spot, her body lurched forward and her stomach contents came right up once again.

"Wake up. Wake up," she told herself.

"I'm afraid you're wide awake, Shio-chan," Kisame replied from behind her.

When she was sure that she could heave no further, she sat on the ground feeling defeated.

"So the nightmare continues," she chuckled.

Kisame crouched gown in front of her and handed her a canteen. He waited patiently for her to have a drink.

"I doubt this will make you feel any better but I thought you should know."

"Know what?" Shiori asked, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"Sasuke is here in Fire Country. Fudo saw him heading towards one of the lairs. He's probably there by now."

Shiori froze. Every muscle in her body tensed up and a loud ringing started in her ears. She was hesitant to move, afraid that she may fall apart if she did. She focused her gaze to the ground as she felt her eyes well up.

"Where's Itachi?" she whispered.

Kisame bowed down, unsure of how to answer her. She glared at him through the tears.

"Where is he?" she asked more urgently.

"It doesn't matter. He has made up his mind-"

"-Shut up."

She bolted up to her feet, ignoring the waves of nausea it caused. She had never ran so fast in her life and yet she had never felt so slow.

'Itachi don't you dare,' she thought, praying to the gods above that her worst fears have not turned into reality.

* * *

 _He saw through the bunshin's eyes in real time. His clone was lying on the cave's cold stone floor, incapacitated by a direct hit from Sasuke's Chidori. His brother looked down on him with his Sharingan. The three-tomoe on each eye spun lazily as he sneered at him._

 _"The hatred I hold within me and the strength I've obtained because of it...you don't know shit about me."_

 _"I know you've become strong," he replied before terminating the jutsu, causing his shadow clone to erupt into a murder of crows._

 _"Come to the Uchiha hideout alone. We will settle this there."_

Itachi was seated on his bed, breathing deeply as he undid the Shadow Clone Technique. His nearly blind eyes gazed on the stone floor of his room. He found it funny how things seemed to drag on and on back in the days. Now the moment he had been waiting for has finally arrived and everything seemed to start moving at the speed of sound.

Without warning, his front door burst open, startling him enough to make him activate his Sharingan on instinct. A disheveled Shiori appeared in front of him. Her cheeks and nose were pink and her puffy eyes were bloodshot. She swayed dangerously while she held on to the doorframe, as though she would lose her balance any second.

"Shiori-!"

She closed the gap between them and enveloped him into a bear hug.

"Let me go," he calmly.

She shook her head defiantly, tightening her hold on him. Her breathing grew deep and rapid and yet she still felt like she was drowning. In between breaths she would let out a guttural cry. There were no words that could explain the bone-deep fear she felt at that moment. It was a fear brought by the knowledge that she was about to lose someone she loved and she was too helpless to do something about it.

 _'Not him, Kami. You've taken everything from me. Please don't take him too,'_ she begged quietly. She could barely move her lips to form his name.

Itachi frowned down at her, walling his emotions off before they could get the best of him. Shiori was falling apart. He had to remain logical or else Sasuke's wrath would engulf the both of them. Careful so as to not touch her bare skin, he forcefully pried her off of him and held her at arm's length.

"No! No-!"

"You don't get it, do you?" he snapped at her. His voice rose up along with his temper. "If I continue to hide, he will come after you too. The Curse of Hatred runs strong in his blood. He won't stop unless he gets to me. You want to stay alive? Stay out of the way."

With one final push, he freed himself from her grasp and made his way to the front door, blinking away the burning sensation he felt behind his eyes.

Shiori was still hyperventilating. Forming words with her trembling lips was difficult. When she did speak, the words came out of her in desperate bursts.

"Itachi...I can't do this alone...I'm begging you!" she cried.

He wanted to yell at her to steel herself up. But when he turned to look at her, he noticed something peculiar, something he hadn't noticed earlier because he was too busy making himself numb. Shiori's lack of control over her emotions made her chakra run amock. Hence, sensing her became effortless. That's when he noticed it. He walked back towards her, mouth agape and disbelief written across his face.

"I'll do anything you want...please, please don't go. I need you...we need you."

He held on to her arms to steady her as she continued to sob. Like the many instances when he stood close to her, he felt her chakra surrounding him like a warm, soothing blanket. This time something was different about it, or at least a part of it was. This tiny, nearly unnoticeable portion was still soothing and good and every bit like Shiori. But it also felt different. It invoked within him a feeling of nostalgia, bringing back memories of young Sasuke and his mother, Mikoto. It even reminded him of his father, Fugaku, back in the days. It was reminiscent of a kind of chakra which surrounded him during the happier parts of a childhood spent within the walls of the Uchiha compound.

His eyes grew wide as he looked down at the crying Shiori. Everything was clicking into place inside his head.

First her enigmatic words... _I can't do this alone_.

And now this chakra, a part of Shiori which was also undoubtedly an Uchiha.

He barely felt the pain as his legs gave way and he crashed on to his knees. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face on her belly, not even bothering to hide the fact that he too was crying.

* * *

 **Author's Note 2.0:** The final scene is inspired by this image I have of Itachi hugging his lover by the waist (this was before I started Colorblind). I didn't have a name or a face for the female character or even an explanation of why he is on his knees but I just see them that way. I would have sketched it if I was actually good at sketching...which I'm not. If any of you out there can draw, mind drawing this for me? That would totally be awesome.

Anyways, you know the drill. Reviews are like coffee. They add years to my life. Probably won't be back again for a couple of weeks after this because Real World. So I hope you all are happy with this um...development between Itachi and Shiori. Cheerios.


	32. Colorblind

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Naruto are not mine. They belong to Kishimoto. Some of scenes here are directly taken from the Naruto Shippuden video game. This includes the characters' lines. Again, if you think you've seen one scene happen before, chances are you have.

* * *

She sat up from the futon as soon as she woke up. She frantically looked around, trying to figure out where she was. It took her a moment to realize that she was in her old room back in Yugakure. It was the very room where she first met Konan, the room where she was introduced to the realities of living with the Akatsuki. She rolled out of the futon and stepped out to the main hallway. Everything was still. She could tell that she was alone. Shiori rounded into a corner and stepped out to the backyard. A full moon hung low on the indigo sky casting a soft glow over the surroundings and at the village below. A soft breeze brought with it the smell of sulphur from the hot springs.

There was a weight on her chest and an itch at the back of her mind, like she was forgetting something very important. What was she doing there? More importantly, _how_ did she get there?

"I don't know," she whispered. She ought to know. She was sure that at one point, she did. It was as if someone had snatched the answers and placed them just out of reach. Shiori clutched at her hair. The frustration made her want to scream.

Desperation kicked in and she started running down the pathway leading to the foot of the hill. Her lungs burnt. Her legs grew numb. Yet she didn't stop until she reached the only place left that she could think of where she might be able to make sense of things. It was a clearing in the middle of the forest outside of Yugakure. Scattered around it were knee-high rocks covered in wildflowers and moss. At the farthest end was a small pond with an odd glow at its surface.

'Has it really only been a year since I last saw this place?' she thought to herself. With everything that happened, it seemed like a lifetime ago. She gave herself a minute. Two minutes. Five. Still, nothing came to mind. A weary cry was forming at the back of her throat when a pebble skipped at the surface of the pond. It made the fireflies take flight like a golden wall emerging from the shadows. Despite seeing it before, the scene still took her breath away. It still made her smile even through the agony of not being able to recall how she lost something so precious.

His arms wrapped around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder. On instinct, she leaned back against him. Relief flooded her veins, taking the weight from her chest.

"I thought I've lost you," she sighed, tearing up even though she had told herself that she was done with crying.

"Sorry for the trouble," he replied.

"Don't be. You're here now. That's all that matters."

She turned around to face him. He had that unreadable look on his face once again, like he was bursting to tell her something and yet he was desperately holding himself back. And as soon as she saw it, it was gone. In its place was a fond smile. He reached out and brushed away her tears with his thumb.

"It wasn't a mistake."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The first time we met in Shimogakure. It was one of the best things that happened to me. I just didn't know it at that time."

Shiori didn't bother to mask her confusion. As flattering as it was to hear those words coming from him, Itachi was never the type who wore his heart on his sleeve. Ever the observant one, he read her thoughts and added, "You deserve to hear it."

She nodded slowly, unsure of how to react to this. Then she gave in and flashed the smile that had been tugging at her lips.

"Still, between the two of us, I'm the lucky one don't you think? I haven't forgotten all those times you got me out of a bind." She put her arms over his shoulders, gray eyes meeting his dark ones. "I can't imagine what I would do without you. I hope I never lose you."

Itachi scooped her into a tight hug. "Remember me, Shiori. When I can no longer bare my soul to you, remember who I really am. Please."

Shiori closed her eyes as she nodded against his chest, feeling contented as she listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

 _Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub._

Her eyes flew open once again. She froze in his arms.

One of Itachi's biggest flaws was found in his heart. She had heard it too many times to know that this strong, normal heartbeat could never come from him, not from the real him.

The genjutsu version of her koibito could sense her alarm and hugged her even tighter. Shiori's shaking hands clutched at the back of his shirt as memories came flooding back at her. The news of Sasuke killing Orochimaru. The journey to Konoha. Their last big fight. The minutes it took for him to stop crying before the Mangekyo Sharingan manifested right before her eyes. It was the last thing she remembered.

"Oh Itachi. What have you done?"

His reply was a request that she could never find the heart to say no to.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave me."

* * *

One of Itachi's favorite memories was the day Sasuke was born. It was a joyful event for everyone. As for him, it made him understand why people found life so precious. Orochimaru's words about life's lack of meaning had poisoned his young mind once. His otouto's shrill cries had been his remedy.

Perhaps what made it his favorite was the image of his father. Uchiha Fugaku was a reserved man. Blatant displays of affection from him were quick to pass and difficult to catch. That summer afternoon, Fugaku had beamed for hours. He didn't let go of Sasuke until he was due to be fed and even then he stroked the infant's sparse tuft of hair while Mikoto held their son against her chest. He held a look of reverence everytime his gaze landed on his wife. It was almost as if no words could explain how thankful he was to her for giving him another son.

Itachi understood why he felt that way. But he could never fathom the depth of those emotions until now.

A smile lit up his features as he gazed at Shiori sleeping on his bed. He had his doubts in the past. Now, these doubts had come to rest. Now he was truly convinced that for all the unforgivable sins he had committed, he had done at least one thing right. He had to, or else the gods woudn't have given him this gift.

In another life he could have been the happiest man alive.

If only he had been anyone else but Uchiha Itachi.

If only he had been that average builder that him and Shiori had talked about once instead of a shinobi.

If only he could afford to give what she had asked from him.

He rubbed his red-rimmed eyes once again, stopping the tears before they could fall.

"You are amazing," he whispered. He caught a glimpse of Shiori's thoughts inside of the Tsukuyomi he had created. The Rinha descendant was convinced that she was luckier than him, that their circumstances had been more in her favor than his. She couldn't have been more wrong.

As far as he could remember, Uchiha Itachi viewed people as different shades of gray. Everyone had a light and a darkness within them. Some had more of one than the other but nobody was purely made of one thing. At one point, even Shiori had been a typical gray. In his eyes, she was a naive girl whose good intentions were fuelled by her own personal agenda. Itachi's biases and paranoia prevented him from acknowledging her as anything more.

It was the first time that he had been wrong about her. It wouldn't be the last.

Shiori helped him to see people as more than the conflict of good and evil within them. She made him believe that he was more than black and white and gray. She made him admit to himself that he was colorblind and most importantly, perhaps the part that had been the most difficult for him to accept after the massacre, she made him believe that he was more than the sum of his missions, deserving of love and affection just as much as the next person. She gave him more than he could have asked for. And in return, he was willing to give back to her the world.

Even if it meant that he couldn't be in it.

For the final time, he stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead.

"Remember I love you," he whispered, a quiet plea of a soldier before heading to war.

A few seconds after he stepped away from the bedside, a knock came from his bedroom door. Kisame stepped inside and stood beside him. His gaze was trained on his partner's ward.

"Don't know what you did to her but she looks better now," the swordsman commented.

"She won't be bothering anyone for a day or two," Itachi replied coolly.

Kisame looked at his partner. "Tsukuyomi, huh? You must be dead serious about keeping her out of the way. Can't say I blame you. She had been pretty determined to stop you."

Itachi turned to face him. If Kisame noticed that he had been crying, he did a good job at keeping it to himself.

"Spar with me, Kisame-san. One round for old times' sake."

The swordsman didn't see that one coming. Nevertheless, he smirked and grabbed the handle of the Samehada on his back.

" _That_ I'm always ready for, Itachi-san."

* * *

"Water Style! Four Sharks Shower!"

By pressing his palm against the puddle of water by his feet, Kisame began the final fight between him and his partner. Four jets of water erupted from the puddle and took the form of sharks. The menacing forms took a sharp turn south and sped towards Itachi. The Sharingan wielder casually threw an exploding kunai at each shark head. The explosives detonated, creating countless droplets of water. These droplets also took the form of sharks quickly heading towards him. One caught the sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak ripping a hole through it.

"As good as you are, even you can't dodge all these," Kisame said. With the last row of shark forms as his shield, he swung the Samehada as hard as he could towards Itachi. The latter exploded into a murder of crows.

"I stand corrected," the swordsman murmured. He stood still as he tried to figure out where the younger shinobi had gone. Just at the edge of his peripheral vision, he could see the crows flocking together, taking the form of the Uchiha. Without a second thought, he hauled the sword towards him. Itachi blocked the hit with a kunai. The two exchanged blows. Every attack was met with a counterattack. Itachi was fast but Kisame was stronger when it came to brute strength. With a downward blow, he forced Itachi to defend himself by pushing upwards against the Samehada. His movements became restricted and the skirmish was brought to a standstill.

Kisame roared with laughter. "I always wanted to go head to head with you like this."

Without warning, the Samehada exploded out of its bandages. One sharp tooth was close enough to graze Itachi on the cheek. He bit back a grunt before doing a backflip away from Kisame.

"Even the Samehada is happy!" He momentarily let go of the sword to form a series of hand seals. Itachi knew what the jutsu was before it was uttered. And he already had the perfect counter jutsu for it.

"Water Style! Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"

"Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"

The two powerful jutsus collided, creating an explosion of heat and steam. Even Fudo, who stood a kilometer away, scurried into the headquarter's interior to avoid the scalding aftermath. Their immediate surroundings were littered with uprooted grass and fallen leaves.

Kisame stood his ground, grinning when he felt a kunai pressed against his back.

"With the Sharingan, you're able to find my shadow from behind and attack even in the mist. Impressive...is what I'd normally say."

Kisame's form dissolved into water, revealing itself to be no more than a water clone. Itachi put his kunai down.

"So you saw through me and used a water clone, huh?"

This time he heard the Samehada growling just over his shoulder. Kisame chuckled from behind. "It's been awhile since I had to do this."

Itachi said nothing. Instead, the tomoe on each eye merged to form the pinwheel of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Heh! So happy to see you using that dojutsu. Never thought you'd be serious enough to use Amaterasu like that. Too bad it uses up too much chakra. Won't that dash your hopes when going up against Sasuke after this?" When Kisame didn't recieve a reply, he added, "Why don't we call it a day? Just seeing you like this is satisfying enough for me."

"I didn't want to fight you like this."

Itachi's voice came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. That was when Kisame realized that he was in a genjutsu. The swordsman blinked and found that "Itachi" had vanished in front of his eyes. It had been an illusion. The real him was standing a few yards away.

Kisame declared defeat by replacing the sword on his back.

"Look at you go. I can't remember the last time I sweated this much."

"I want to fight Sasuke one on one," Itachi said from where he stood. "Do me a favor and keep everyone else out of it."

Kisame nodded. "Fair enough." He looked on as Itachi turned his back and started his journey towards the Uchiha compound, to the battle that would end all battles for him.

"But still, it's a little sad parting with you like this after all we've been through together."

Itachi didn't reply. He was focused on someone else, an eavesdropper hidden up in the trees. He had expected him to show up right after he had spoken to Sasuke. And he did so right in the middle of his fight with Kisame. Tobi's timing couldn't have been more perfect. With his and Kisame's chakra signatures wrecking havoc in their surroundings, Tobi would be too distracted to notice the two weak chakra signatures which were currently in his bedroom. He took comfort in the fact that even without his distraction, Shiori's chakra would most likely cover everything up anyway unless somebody took a closer look. Still, when it came to protecting his own, he was more than willing to give it his all.

* * *

 **Writer's Notes:** Before anything else, let me give a shoutout to those who recently reviewed in the previous chapters: _**justacatthatprocrastinatesalot, GetLegsBish-Aiya, ASimpleFanIsAll, xCutePoison, pmann1, The Wolf of Shadows, simplegirl42, Ketsui Tasogare**_. Thank you guys for giving me these "treats". Honestly, we don't get much for these works so we basically gobble up reviews like chocolate. Thank you for motivating me to continue, even on the weeks/months when I felt like I already hit a deadend and do not have much to give.

For **ASimpleFanIsAll** who asked if Deidara is younger that Shiori, I say "yes", definitely. Shiori and Itachi are the same age after all.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please do leave a review. Honestly it means a lot.


	33. Final Conversation

Disclaimer: All the original characters of Naruto are owned by Kishi.

* * *

 _"I want you to remember this, Itachi. In times when the world gets so bad. Or when you fall so deep into yourself that I can't get to you anymore. You have this place and this moment and these are things that can never be taken away from you."_

Oh how he wished he could stay in that memory forever. Those precious few minutes had been so perfect that he had unknowingly turned it into his safety blanket, that one corner at the back of his mind that he would run to when his reality became too difficult to bear.

The longer his fight against Sasuke dragged on, the more often Itachi found himself drifting back to that memory. It took every ounce of his willpower to force himself back to the present and endure all that came with it.

'It won't be long until this will all be over,' he would told himself. 'Just a little more.'

He could tell that the end was near. He had never known this kind of exhaustion. It numbed him to the core and turned his entire body into lead. Placing one foot in front of the other was a feat in itself, especially since all of what remained of his chakra was used to maintain his Susanoo. Time was running out. Itachi knew he only had a few moments left. He had to be quick. He had one more task to do.

He moved forward. Left foot followed by the right. Beaten, bloody and with most of the skin of his right arm burned off, he dragged his body straight towards his otouto.

Fear seeped out of Sasuke. Anyone could sense it from the petrified look on his face to his shaking knees. Itachi reached out to him with his right hand, aiming for his precious eyes.

"Mine," he rasped. "Those eyes...are mine."

Sasuke stood paralyzed with fear.

As Itachi reached death's door, he took one last look at his brother. Despite himself, despite swearing to keep his facade until his very last breath, he found himself doing something he rarely did. Itachi changed his mind. He wanted Sasuke to know, or at least to have a glimpse of the secret he had carried with him for the greater part of the decade: His aniki never stopped loving him.

Itachi poked the younger Uchiha's forehead, completing the Tensha Fuin. It was the quiet ending of his life's work, a legacy that he had entrusted to his otouto. He ddin't stop the huge smile from spreading on his cracked lips.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. There will be no next time."

Almost immediately, his Susanoo vanished. His legs gave way and he fell forward, slamming his head against the concrete wall. Everything faded to a weightless white.

Uchiha Itachi was dead before his body even hit the ground.

* * *

News travelled fast within the Akatsuki. Within minutes, Sora received the news of Itachi's demise from a forlorn Fudo. She had to sit down to take it all in.

She saw it coming, knew that it was going to happen. Still, she realized then that there was no way to prepare herself for the moment when the young Uchiha would actually leave them.

Sora would never admit it but Itachi was her favorite. He reminded her of a grandson whom she lost during the Third Shinobi War. News of his death brought back the sickening sensation of irreplaceable loss from years ago. Her hands shook. Her lips quivered.

Fudo peeked outside the apothecary door one last time before closing it.

"The messenger has left."

Almost immediately, his wife wailed in agony. Sora couldn't hide her pain. Her face contorted into a grimace as angry tears streamed down her weathered cheeks. Fudo crossed the room in long strides and took her in his arms.

After the losses that they suffered during the war, Sora had sworn to herself never to get attached to anyone outside of their dwindling clan. The young shinobi had been her exception and he didn't blame her. Itachi had a kind soul. Despite being surrounded by hardened criminals, that kindness - though veiled with nonchalance - never faded. It was a breath of fresh air in an organization filled with hatred and so Sora held on to him like a precious gift.

"Damn you, Itachi," she whispered. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Everything that young man did, he did for a reason," Fudo reminded her. "We have always trusted his judgment then. I don't see a reason why we should stop trusting him now." He sat at the edge of the table, locking eyes with his wife. Gently, he brushed her hair away from her face.

"Whatever it was that he planned for Sasuke, I'm sure he had achieved it. As for his other plan...he knew he couldn't do it alone. I intend to honor his memory by seeing through the plan that he had entrusted us to finish for him."

Sora nodded, wiping her face dry with her handkerchief. As usual, Fudo was right. Their grief would have to wait. There was one more thing that had to be done. And it had to be done fast.

Her husband offered her a glass of water and she took it, downing the contents as her mind wandered back to the last conversation she had with Itachi. It happened in that very room amidst the herbs and concoctions that she had gathered to stock. The raven-haired boy sat across her, quietly sipping his tea. He didn't know it but Sora was fuming. It took much of her self-control to stop herself from pummeling the stupid thing.

 _'How do I start this?' she wondered. She decided to breach the subject using the chakra paper incident, how one of the papers burst into flames after coming in contact with his ward whom everyone knew had a lightning-based chakra._

 _"Curious," Itachi commented, an amused look lighting up his boyish features._

 _Sora felt the vein on her temple throb._

 _"There is a reason medic-nins do not test expecting kunoichi for chakra affinity. A chakra paper cannot distinguish the source of the chakra that it comes in contact with. Sometimes, it detects the chakra of an unborn child, which may have a different affinity from its mother's, giving us a false result. Knowing Shiori's background...and having a darn good idea who she's with, I conclude that that was exactly why that paper blew up. So, Itachi?" Her eyes glinted dangerously. "I think that you have a lot of explaining to do."_

 _"...Of course that chakra paper did what it did. Her child is an Uchiha after all." His words were laced with an unapologetic confidence that caught Sora off guard. And then he did something she had never seen him do before. Itachi dropped his face in his palms and chuckled. His shoulders shook. When he lifted his head to face her, he was blushing with what she could only describe as giddiness. He looked every bit like the ecstatic fathers-to-be whom she had to face on a regular basis when she still worked in the government hospital in Kumogakure. Her anger turned lukewarm and the sermon she had prepared that morning sat lodged in her throat._

 _"How did you find out?" she asked. "Did she tell you?"_

 _Itachi shook his head. "She didn't have to. It is fairly easy to distinguish the chakra signature of my clan. I guess in that aspect, my son took after me."_

 _"It could be a girl, you know."_

 _"It's a boy."_

 _Sora was floored. Of all the reactions she thought this news could bring out from the stoic Itachi, happiness wasn't on the top of the list. In fact she wasn't even sure it was on the list._

 _"Sora-san, none of us saw this coming, least of all Shiori and I. But...I'd be lying if I say that I don't want this child."_

 _"Itachi, you have to understand - " Sora took his hands and gave them a firm squeeze. "If you proceed to confront Sasuke, and I know you will, it will not matter whether you want it or not. That child will still grow up without a father and that is if it could even get a chance to be born! This is the Akatsuki! Did you really think they wouldn't dispose of Shiori once they find out that she's pregnant?" She whispered the last part, afraid that there might be eavesdroppers nearby._

 _Itachi frowned. "After my fight with Sasuke, they are going to get rid of her either way. You know as much as I do what they do to the wards of the fallen members."_

 _There was no use sugarcoating it. They both knew that he wouldn't be coming out of that fight alive._

 _"Also, the Curse of Hatred runs strong inside Sasuke. If I don't face him, then he will come after the people I love. There is no way around it. Not for me."_

 _The pair grew silent as the implications of Itachi's words settled heavily on their shoulders._

 _"And what of Shiori and the child?" Sora asked, dreading the answer._

 _Itachi finished his tea and slowly brought the cup down in front of him. "I've been planning her escape for some time now. Outside of the confines of hideout, everything is already in place. If she can escape from here then she gets a shot at freedom, an opportunity to disappear off the grid for as long as she needs to._

 _Sora narrowed her eyes at him. "You sound so certain. How is she going to do that?"_

 _"You and Fudo-san play a vital role in it." Itachi stood up, walked around the table so that he was standing directly in front of her and bowed down._

 _"For the last time, Sora-san, I am asking you to help me."_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I know. I have a lot of explaining to do.

1) I didn't update for a year because...I simply don't know how to move forward with the story. I had the concepts in my head but I couldn't put it in words no matter how many times I tried. My writer's block was on full blast and there was no other way to beat it other than wait it out and "try" to make other projects on the side. It was very frustrating on my part, considering I didn't want to give up on this story...not after all that trouble of "developing" it.

2) I have agonized on how to write Itachi's final moments. The first plan was to write the Sasuke/Itachi fight from start to finish but it just felt so...redundant. Everyone knew how the fight went and I had no plans to deviate anywhere AWAY from that scene. Add some bits and bobs, yes. Change the outcome of the fight, absolutely not.

3) I have absolutely no idea what to do with my OC. I realized too late that I have turned her into a hot mess and for the longest time it felt like I couldn't save her storyline (pretty much how she feels about herself I guess). I've just figured it out now...ish. Hopefully I can still give her justice, the poor sap.

4) I have abandoned you guys and left you hanging for a long LONG time. Still, if it's not too much to ask it would be great to hear from you (doesn't have to be a public review, it can be a PM if you want) Counting other stories, it has been half a year since I actually wrote stuff and I expect some rust and stiffness here and there. Feedback is a great way to figure out how to improve in this craft so...please. Do message me back!

5) Thank you for keeping this story in your list! Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. PS: That gender reveal is a nod to the 5-year old Itachi.


	34. The Ends of the Earth

When Shiori was seven years old, a year before her kekkei genkai manifested, she and her mother travelled the shinobi lands in a caravan of merchants. In one of their travels, they encountered another motley crew of performers. There were gymnasts, flame-spitters and sword-swallowers among them to name a few. The oldest in the group was a gray-haired woman whose long locks were braided and arranged into an elegant bun atop her wrinkled features. It was an eye-catcher and it was what brought Shiori to approach her. The latter took one look at the young girl looking up at her and took her hands. Her amber eyes went sharp as they studied the marks on Shiori's palms.

"You poor child," she sighed. "It is unfortunate that you will come to know such loneliness and isolation."

The girl furrowed her brows in confusion. It didn't seem possible. True, she didn't know her father and had no siblings or any playmates who were her age. But the adults whom she travelled with always made time for her. She was rarely lonely, much less isolated.

"See this jagged line?" The woman traced one of the creases crossing her left palm. "Dark times lie ahead of you. You will be in grave danger. But -" and with this her lips twitched into a half-smile, caressing a nearly invisible spot on the corner of her left palm, "- you see this? That means you have someone who will keep you safe. A guardian. A protector. A friend. It could be anyone. It's too early to tell. This person can help you pull through. Still, the universe will break you, dear child. You will travel the ends of the Earth many times before you reach the lifetime of peace that is waiting for you."

* * *

Shiori forgot about the old woman with the braids shortly after. She never crossed her mind until the day she opened her gray eyes to find Sora looking down on her.

"You should wear your hair that way. It suits you."

Sora didn't reply. Instead she sat down on the bed. She shifted the younger woman so that Shiori's head rested on her lap. She ran her hand through her dark locks.

Shiori said nothing, did nothing but stare at the sliver of sunlight on the cracks of her bedroom door. She didn't know what else to do. It had only been a few hours since she woke up from the Tsukuyomi. With it came an unmistakable sensation of loss, as if something embedded deep within her suddenly vanished. The wires which held it in place snapped and the sudden loss of inertia caused these wires to wreak havoc inside her like vicious whips. It was amazing that she was still intact, considering how ruined she felt on the inside. She didn't even have the energy left to cry.

"May I?" the question brought her out of her thoughts and she noticed Sora motioning at her belly. It registered briefly on her mind that she didn't remember telling anyone about her condition except Itachi. Nevertheless she didn't resist. A warm hand rested over the part of her body where another life was currently growing. It stayed there for a while, moving a couple of centimetres on random directions every so often.

"He is tiny but he is strong. What I wouldn't give to deliver him myself."

Shiori kept quiet. She didn't remind Sora that there was no guarantee if she would still be around tomorrow and that she highly doubted if she could stay alive long enough to carry the pregnancy to its full term.

All of a sudden, Sora pulled her by the arms and sat her up. The sudden movement made her light-headed. The old woman took her by the face and urged her to meet her piercing gaze.

"Sotome Shiori, I want you to listen very carefully. You will leave tonight. Pack lightly. An hour after dusk, pass by the apothecary. There's going to be a package sitting on the table. Inside it are vials of medicine and some money, enough to last you well after you give birth. You take it and get the hell out of here."

"And go where?" she asked. The urgency of Sora's voice got the gears of her head turning.

"Head west."

It was the worst advice she had ever received from the wise medic-nin. Years of travelling with the Akatsuki taught her that west of the headquarters they were currently in was the heart of Wind Country's formidable desert. They avoided that route as much as possible for it left them exposed to the elements and an array of predators. Only S-rank shinobi were allowed to travel that route alone and even then they only did so during emergencies. Shiori thought that crossing the desert at night was equivalent to commiting suicide. And Sora was asking her to do just that.

She might have said her thoughts out loud for Sora replied with her explanation.

"As far as I know, the Akatsuki shinobi nearest us is Kisame-san. He was held up by Team Hebi a few hours ago but I'm afraid he is heading back to us now...to finish off his partner's assets. He doesn't have to like it but he knows the protocol. Whoever is within the vicinity does the job. He'll be coming in from the east so you must avoid that route at all cost. Kami forbid you might bump into each other. Also, the rest of them are in the mainland, also east-ward. It's too risky."

"And heading west isn't? Sora-san, I don't mean to sound rude but this is madness!" Sora felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, with the two surfaces closing in on each other to crush her.

"It's dangerous but it's doable." Sora took a piece of parchment from her pocket and handed it to her. "Find this man. He will be waiting for you in the first river delta you will stumble upon."

Shiori did not even read the name. Her mind was working overtime, computing the number of hours it will take her to reach the delta by foot. Without even taking her morning sickness into consideration, the earliest that she would be able to reach it is by midday. Her heart sank to her guts.

"There's a sandstorm coming tomorrow on midday. Sora-san, I will be walking righ into its path." The numbness she felt earlier was chipping away and in its place was the heavy feeling of anxiety.

"That sandstorm will act as your shield from the predators. All of them. Kisame-san won't be arriving until dawn. By then it will be easy for him to work out when you left and at which direction you were heading. He will come to the same conclusion that you did just now. He will think the sandstorm will most likely finish you off and he will set his sights on the other assets."

"And what if he doesn't? What if he goes after me anyway?"

Shiori could tell that Sora was getting impatient. But she couldn't help it. If she was going to walk right in to the eye of the storm then she wanted to make sure that she got all angles covered.

"All the more reason for you to run. That man and his boat is your only way out. Itachi paid him a fortune to get you out of Wind Country. Make it count."

The young woman stilled at the mention of her late koibito. The initial shock of his death had worn out and it made the pain all too real. Like a sadistic slideshow, random images of him flitted in her mind. It made her yearning for him unbearable. She closed her eyes, breathing slowly, afraid that any sudden movements might cause her to lose it.

"He always had your back. Until the very end he never once thought of abandoning you."

 _Then why does it feel that way?!_ She wanted to shout. Entangled with her grief was an anger directed at him. Her mind still couldn't reconcile the fact that his death was necessary so they could live. He was going to be a father. He was loved. _So why?_ Nothing made sense.

"Shiori. If you can't find the strength to do it for yourself then I hope you can find it in you to do it for the baby."

Sora smiled despite her sad eyes. She can still remember the way Itachi talked about the little entity in Shiori, how ridiculous it almost looked that the cold young man had fallen head over heels for a person whom he will never meet.

"For every bind that the Akatsuki got you into, Itachi was always there to get you out. At times even vice versa. You had each other. This child only has you. So hold on for dear life...not because you want to but because he needs you to. Do you understand me, Shiori?"

* * *

The morning that she crossed the desert, two words kept repeating in her head in an endless loop.

"Please live."

Sora told her the chances of her having a miscarriage during the escape was high. She was too early in the pregnancy to tease death. Hearing this changed her perspective on the situation change drastically. Defying the odds were no longer for the sake of her own survival for the the child's. She made an oath to any god willing to listen that if the tiny life in her would survive the journey, then she would pour everything she could into raising that child. She was fairly certain of the goodness that she was capable of. All she needed was a chance to show it.

Shiori finished the journey by midday, just as she had predicted. She set a fixed pace for herself and did not let her nerves nor her morning sickness slow her down until her escape route was in sight. By noon time, she had just enough energy to drag herself aboard the small boat, the only vehicle in the barren waters, before collapsing on its floorboards. She ached from the crown of her head to the blisters on her toes but she had never felt such relief in her life.

"Where to?" the sailor asked, a middle-aged man with gray hair and a scratchy voice. Itachi's contact.

"Sanctuary," she whispered softly.

"There's a futon and some blanket downstairs. Help yourself."

Shiori chuckled. She could barely feel her legs. A sunburnt hand found its way on her belly.

"It's okay," she replied. "We're okay."

* * *

 _ **EPILOGUE**_

 _(Five years later)_

It has never been done before. It was a breakthrough, in all sense of the word, despite the ethical considerations. His only regret was that he had no choice on who he had for a subject. He would have very much preferred one that wouldn't attempt to kill him on pure muscle memory once awakened.

Unfortunately for him, Orochimaru didn't have much of a choice. His partner in this procedure had very particular terms. And without him, the inital treatments and diagnotic tests wouldn't have been achievable.

'No matter,' he thought. For the notorious member of the Sannin, it was a compromise that he was willing to make for the sake of science.

"It's time," Orochimaru's partner said. Dark eyes glared at him. "Wake him up."

"Aye. Although you will have to forgive me for not being too willing to be the first person he sees when he wakes up."

Both men turned to look at the massive fluid-filled tank in front of them. Suspended in the green-tinged water was their subject. His hair floated around his face like a dark halo. Tiny bubbles accumulated on the long lashes resting on his cheeks. A gray mask was fitted over his nose and mouth to help him breath. From the neck down, he was completely bare.

Orochimaru looked down and pulled at the level in front of him. Almost immediately, their subject convulsed. The tank drained dry before the front glass hatched open, dropping the man inside it on the cold metal floor of their laboratory.

His partner knelt down in front of the shivering form and removed the breathing mask, allowing the subject to take gasps of air for the first time in months. A breath caught on his throat and was followed by a coughing fit. The former's hand went over his back and lit up with chakra, signalling the start of a medical ninjutsu.

"There there, Itachi-kun. Catch your breath."

Itachi, who was gasping for his life, stilled upon hearing the voice. Still shivering, he lifted his head up and came face to face with Uchiha Shisui.

"Remember me?"

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

I've always planned for that epilogue to wrap the story up...way before the massive writer's block struck. It didn't seem right to get rid of it. Now here's the thing: I've left this story dormant for so long that I'm not sure if anyone is still reading it by now. So now I'm asking you guys? Y'all up for a sequel. =)

If so do let me know. If you don't want to leave your message on the review section then feel free to PM me.

till next time.

-freedwinner28


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